Behind the Eight Ball
by Animaltalker
Summary: An undercover assignment forces Lennie & Anita to face their feelings for each other
1. Ch 1 Revelations

**Behind the Eight Ball**  
**Part 1 Revelations**  
  
As Detective Lennie Briscoe poured himself a cup of coffee, he watched the process server stop his bathroom-bound partner, Ed Green, to ask where Anita Van Buren could be found. It wasn't terribly unusual for process servers to visit the precinct but something made him keep a close eye on him, maybe it was the fact that the process server had used her first name and not her rank. He remained in front of the coffee pot watching the interaction between the stranger and Anita. He saw her thank the man and then give the legal papers a very quick glance as though she knew what they were with out reading them thoroughly. She then heaved a deep sigh and held the offending document in her left hand and placed the fingers of her right hand on her forehead and her right thumb on the right side of her face. She looked sad and troubled. 

  
Lennie wondered what bad, but anticipated news the legal papers contained. Maybe her lawsuit against the NYPD was coming back to haunt her again. He couldn't stand to see her look upset, so he thought maybe it would be a good idea to take her a cup of coffee. The interruption would give her a chance to talk if she wanted to. He made up the coffee the way he knew she liked it and sauntered over to her office, knocking as he entered. 

  
As Lennie handed his attractive lady boss the cup of coffee, he said, "Here, you look like you could use this". 

  
"Yeah, thanks," she said as she took the cup from his hand. 

  
"So what brand of nasty did the process server bring you?" he asked. 

  
"Preliminary papers for my divorce," Anita said softly, still looking at the papers. 

  
Lennie didn't know what to say as he was experiencing a lot of conflicting emotions. He was simultaneously shocked and saddened for her and yet there was also a part of him that was thrilled to hear the news. Lennie had been attracted to Anita Van Buren from the moment he'd first seen her, but that was purely physical. Time had taught him to appreciate all of her, especially her mind and spirit, but he'd always kept his distance as best he could because she was "happily married", not to mention being his boss. Now it seemed there was one less roadblock between them and one that could be removed fairly easily if they so desired. Lennie shook himself a bit as the last thought went through his mind - No! The last thing any woman needed was to get romantically involved with him; he always ended up disappointing and hurting the women he cared about. 

  
"Wow," he finally managed, "I always thought you were one of the rare breed, a _happily married cop_". 

  
"Yeah, well I guess I'm a better than average actress," she said with a pained smile. 

  
"Lennie I really appreciate your coming in to see about me, but I don't think I want to get into this here at work," she said and inwardly cursed that she was pushing Lennie away. 

  
She'd been fascinated by the lanky, sleepy eyed detective from day one. He'd always been partnered with pretty boys, who never gave her heart one moments trouble, but Lennie could get her heart going to beat the band just by grinning that big toothy smile of his or rolling up his sleeves to reveal his muscular forearms. She wondered what he thought of her. There'd been a couple of times in her office and once on a stake out when he seemed to be flirting with her, but she wasn't sure. She knew his track record with women was pretty bad and, at least now that he was sober, he seemed to give married woman a wide berth. She wondered if her divorce would change his behavior towards her any, then realized she shouldn't be thinking these things at all because she was his supervisor. 

  
"Sure, I understand," he started to leave and then as he touched the doorknob, he turned and added, "If you need to talk, let me know. They tell me I'm a pretty good listener". 

  
She got up and went to the door, "Thanks Lennie". 

  
The rest of the shift crawled by as Lennie and Anita both pondered the other and the relationship they'd like to explore but thought they probably never would. 

  
After an afternoon of getting next to nothing done, because she was either thinking about the divorce papers or about Detective Lennie Briscoe, Anita decided to 'take the bull' by the horns so to speak and ask him to go out to dinner with her to talk about her divorce. So just before the shift was over she asked him to come in to her office. 

  
"Did you really mean what you said about being available if I wanted to talk?" she asked a bit hesitantly. 

  
"Definitely!" he replied almost enthusiastically. 

  
"Well how about after work? Maybe we could find someplace to get an early supper?" she suggested. 

  
"I know the perfect place, Tony's. It's this Italian place a few blocks from my apartment. Food's great and since we'll be getting there early we can get a booth in the back, that'll be a bit more private," he suggested. 

  
"Ok, Tony's it is. I'll get my jacket and purse," she added. 

  
As Lennie & Anita left her office they were so wrapped up in a discussion of how to judge a really good Italian restaurant that neither of them noticed Ed Green wave good night. He shrugged and wondered what was up, but let it go figuring he could always ask in the morning if he remembered.

* * *

  
At the restaurant, Angela, the owner's daughter, gave Lennie a look when he asked for one of the booths in the back, and as he realized what the young women thought, he let out a sigh. 

  
"Problem?" Anita asked him. 

  
"No, I just realized that that young lady probably got the wrong idea about our wanting a booth in the back," he said in a way that made it sound like he was apologizing. 

  
"Well, maybe we should take it as a compliment," she suggested. 

  
"Huh?" Lennie replied inarticulately. 

  
"Well most kids her age are sure people our age are rather past it, if you know what I mean?" she said with a saucy smile. 

  
"Yeah, unfortunately, I know exactly what you mean," he replied with a broad smile of his own. 

  
Anita started to study the menu but ended up just taking recommendations from Lennie. They ended up ordering a real traditional multi-coursed Italian meal that Anita decided she didn't even want to think about in terms of calories or grams of carbohydrates. They talked easily through the appetizer and soup about inconsequential things, and then as they dug into the pasta dishes they ordered, they finally got around to talking about her divorce. 

  
"I don't know why getting the papers today upset me, its not like it was a surprise or unwanted or anything," she started, sounding as though she was trying to explain her behavior herself. 

  
"I mean Don and I have been talking about getting a divorce for about six years now, but we decided to wait until the boys we're out of school," she continued as she idly twisted strands of pasta on her fork. 

  
"I thought your youngest, Stefan?" Lennie said the boy's name in a questioning tone and Anita nodded so he continued, "I though Stefan still had a year to go in High School?" 

  
"Yes, but he's the one who pushed us to do this. One day he sort of unloaded on Don and me about being hypocrites and fools. Said he and Ric might not have understood what was going on six years ago when we stopped sleeping together, but over time they realized we were just sticking it out for their sake. And well, despite my warning Don not to, he brought some girlfriend of his home and Stefan was the one to find the 'evidence' so to speak," she looked a bit embarrassed at the last thing she said. 

  
"Does Don having girlfriends upset you?" Lennie asked trying to gauge whether she was carrying a torch for her soon to be ex. 

  
"No, the only thing that bothers me is his being indiscreet and embarrassing the boys. Believe me I've been over Don Van Buren for a long time," she added wanting to make sure she was clear about that point. 

  
Lennie looked down at his dinner plate not sure what to say next. He was dying to ask her if she'd had boyfriends over the past six years, but it was definitely not his business. Before he could make up his mind whether to ask anyway, she volunteered the answer. 

  
"And before you ask, no I haven't had any boyfriends over that same time frame. It's just not quite as easy for me to meet someone I both find interesting and am allowed to be with," there she'd come about as close as she could to telling him why she hadn't jumped his bones a long time ago. 

  
"I guess I hadn't thought about that, I suppose the workplace is the most common place to meet someone, but most of the men you meet at work are under your direct supervision or you're under theirs," Lennie commented. 

  
"Or they are definitely not someone I'd be interested in," she said alluding to the criminals brought in to the precinct. They both laughed a bit and Lennie nodded his head in agreement. 

  
And as long as I was 'happily married', I couldn't expect most men to give me a second glance," she said. She paused for a moment and Lennie wondered if she realized that to his over active imagination the last couple of things she'd said sounded like excuses for his not being her lover for the last six years. 

  
"So anyway like I said, its not like the divorce isn't something I want. I want it very much, but still it hit me hard when I got those papers," Anita said still bewildered by her feelings. 

  
"Well take it from the voice of experience here, I can tell you no matter how sure you think you are that divorce is the right thing, seeing it in black and white is tough. It's like official proof you screwed up. You made promises of forever and then forever came and went. It upset you today and it will upset you again every time there's some legal document you have to sign. Final papers will probably be the worse. Least wise that was a real killer for me both times," Lennie said as he thought back to the endings of his two marriages. 

  
"You don't very often talk about your marriages except to make some cynical but witty remark," she observed. 

  
"Yeah, well you know what they say. If I didn't laugh I'd cry and we can't have that. It would ruin my tough guy image," Lennie again tossed off a witticism to try to stave off the pain. 

  
"Did you know that divorce was the right thing both times?" Anita asked Lennie earnestly, it wasn't so much that she wanted insight about divorce but that she wanted to know more about this man. 

  
Lennie didn't answer right away. Anita was asking him to open up old and well-buried wounds and he wasn't sure he wanted to unearth them, but he did want to keep talking to her and learning about her. If he were willing to bare his soul to her maybe she'd reciprocate. He just had to be willing to go first. 

  
"In my second marriage it was a lot easier to see that divorce was the right thing. I should never have married Lorna in the first place. Don't know what I thought we had in common. About all we really had was a love for scotch and a decent sex life and even that didn't prevent me from cheating on her ever chance I got," Lennie stopped to take a drink of his trademark club soda and Anita noticed how judgmental he was about himself. 

  
"But my first marriage, that was tougher to let go of, I knew intellectually that a divorce was the right thing for everyone involved, even for the girls really. I mean as bad as things were for them with me out of the house, it was better than living with a Dad who couldn't face their Mom without a couple of drinks," Lennie said reliving the pain. 

  
"What made it get so bad?" Anita asked wondering how any woman could treat a sweet guy like Lennie so badly as to drive him to drink. 

  
"You know what it was?" Lennie asked with a slight smile that seemed to say he was proud he'd finally figured it out. When Anita shook her head he continued. 

  
"Neither of us was the person the other thought they were in love with," he answered. At Anita's puzzled look he expounded a bit further on his theory of the demise of his first marriage. 

  
"I thought she was a woman who could be content to be a cop's wife. Gloria thought, well, she thought I had a lot of potential that I could really make something of myself, become wealthy and powerful. She never understood that even if she was right about my abilities I didn't want that. But she had this vision of what our lives were gonna be one day, so she was always pushing me. Go to college! Bring home more money! When I balked and said I wanted to just be a good cop she said well at least get ahead, get off the beat, take the detective's exam! HA!" he laughed a bit, and then continued. 

  
"That was the one big mistake she made, because when I made detective, I finally found something I was really good at that was legal to take money from people for being good at," Lennie paused for a moment, so Anita decided to lighten the moment a bit and brazenly asked him to clarify a point. 

  
"So are there things you're really good at that aren't legal for you to take money from people for being good at?" she asked with a smile. 

  
"Uh, yeah, but, uh-" Lennie stammered a bit and blushed, realizing what it sounded like he was saying. 

  
"Oh my," Anita grinned at him. "Lennie Briscoe, tough guy, is blushing, I would have never thought I'd live to see the day!" Anita teased him. 

  
"Oh and just for that I ought to tell you in detail what I'm good at," he countered, a shy smile starting to alleviate the redness of his cheeks. 

  
"OK, truce," she said, afraid things might get out of hand. 

  
After fiddling with his meal a bit, Lennie picked up his train of thought 

  
"Gloria thought my being a detective was a stepping stone on the way to something bigger and better. She just couldn't understand that it was what I wanted to do with the rest of my life," he paused again to gather his thoughts. "I tried to make her happy, as much as I could, without giving up what I was. I brought home lots of extra money by shooting stick, until my captain told me to lose the habit quick or I'd get kicked off the force for gambling. That's when I lost her, when she knew my job was more important to me than money, that's when she started cheating on me," he said with his voice getting softer. 

  
"That really hurt you didn't it?" she asked gently. 

  
"Yeah, you know before I met Gloria I was a lot like Mike Logan, never stuck to one girlfriend very long, dated two and three at the same time, a real Casanova. Then I met Gloria and I thought I'd really found true love for the first, last and only time. I thought it would be like some damn fairy tale. So yeah, when the Princess started sleeping around with other frogs, this Prince Charming took it real hard. She destroyed all the dreams, all the illusions. Suddenly I had a real life and it sucked," Lennie said vehemently. 

  
After having kept all the pent up pain in side for so long and finally giving it vent, Lennie found he couldn't shut it off. 

  
"Gloria convinced me to give us another try and pretty soon she was pregnant with Julia, so I felt I had to stay, even though I knew it had been wrong to agree to try again. Then there was this nagging suspicion that maybe the baby wasn't mine. Of course it didn't matter, I fell hopelessly in love with Julia just like I did with Cathy," he said and she could see the tears swimming in his eyes at the thought of his daughters. 

  
"Funny thing, I wasn't around that much for Julia. I mean she was just a baby when Gloria and I divorced and so our relationship was built in little snatches, weekends and summer vacations and stuff like that. And yet Julia's always been the one of my daughters who's loving and forgiving. I was there for Cathy until she was seven. I was the one who took care of her while her Mom was out cheating with some guy and yet I swear she went to her grave hating me," Lennie quieted for a minute realizing he'd just poured out a lot more than he had meant to. Anita didn't know what to do, she wanted to ease this special man's pain and yet she couldn't begin to know where to start. 

  
"God, I'm sorry Anita. Here I was suppose to be giving you a sympathetic ear and I've done nothing but pour out my old rehashed troubles to you," Lennie said by way of apology. 

  
"No, no don't apologize. I don't know if I can say this the way I mean it, but I feel privileged that you opened up to me," she told him as she reached out to take his hand in hers. He grasped it and nodded not trusting his voice. Finally she decided she needed to say more, to try to pour some balm on his obviously painful wounds. 

  
"Lennie, I know you've convinced yourself that your daughter Cathy hated you, but I seriously doubt that. I'm sure she was angry with you and blamed you for things. Things that probably weren't all your fault and things she probably couldn't fully understand. But have you considered that a lot of what you experienced from Cathy was projection?" Anita asked. 

  
"Projection, that sounds like psychobabble to me, no offense," Lennie said his voice a bit rough with his emotions. 

  
"Well maybe, but think about it. You said Cathy was there to really see what was happening in your home as the marriage was falling a part. I remember being told that kids that age get a lot of things twisted around. They think they were to blame for the breakup, that somehow if they'd done something different that their parents would stay together," when she saw that Lennie was hanging on her words she pressed on. 

  
"You said we all feel bad when we see the divorce papers because we feel like we failed. Maybe Cathy felt like somehow she failed too and seeing you would just bring it all back up. " Anita felt she was ready to put the last blow in to fracture the false image Lennie had of his relationship with Cathy. 

  
"Lennie, they say anger is fear turned sidewise. So what was Cathy so afraid of?" she asked him. 

  
He answered softly with tears in his eyes and in his voice, "That I'd never come back, that I'd go away and forget her, most of all that I'd stop loving her. When I first moved out of the house, I'd call home each night before her bedtime to talk to her and she'd always ask me to come back and she'd ask 'Daddy don't you love me any more?' Some how I don't think I ever laid that fear to rest for her," he heaved a big sigh, he still felt the aching emptiness her death had left him, but somehow the things Anita said to him were the first words of comfort he'd really heard, really felt. 

  
He looked at Anita, squeezed her hand that he held and then said with a stronger voice, "I still think I'm getting more out of this than you. Hey maybe you ought to give up police work and go into counseling." 

  
Just then their waiter came up to ask if they wanted dessert and coffee. Over Anita's initial protests, Lennie ordered two coffees and a single serving of Tiramisu with two spoons. Without saying anything they silently agreed to leave alone the heavy things they'd been discussing and move back to more neutral topics. 

  
After they had finished the meal and Lennie paid the bill, he walked Anita to her car, placing his right hand in the small of her back to guide her. They both seemed reluctant to part company and Anita leaned against her car door. 

  
"I know we talked about some pretty heavy stuff in there, but I still managed to enjoy myself," she eventually said. 

  
"Yeah," Lennie said suddenly feeling like a teenager hanging on, hoping to get a second date. 

  
"I'd say I'd like to do this again but-" she trailed off. 

  
"Yeah, " Lennie said again and felt even more like an immature idiot. 

  
Finally he gave in, at least part way to his temptations and gathered Anita into his arms in an embrace. As he held her he whispered into her ear, "God, if only you weren't my boss." 

  
He released her and before she could say anything more, he walked quickly off into the night. 


	2. Ch 2 Undercover

**Part 2 Undercover **  
Ed Green might have forgotten to ask about what was up between his partner and his boss, except that the next day they were acting peculiarly. They were sort of playing eye tag. Lennie would stare at the lieutenant until someone noticed, then he'd avert his gaze quickly, as though he were doing something wrong. The lieutenant was doing much the same thing. Once he even caught them catch each other's eyes and then quickly look away. Man, the vibe they were giving off was weird. At about 10:30 AM the phone rang and Lennie snatched the phone up like it was his ticket out of perdition.  
On their way to the crime scene Ed decided he just had to ask Lennie what was up.  
"So what's up with you and the lieu?" he asked casually.  
Lennie gave Ed a sharp look.  
"What do you mean what's up?" he said, trying a bit too late to play things cool. 

"Oh no, don't try that on me, bro. I've had you two under surveillance all morning and there is definitely something strange going down," Ed countered. 

"OK, look I shouldn't have tried to 'shine you on' but I can't really talk about it either, so can you just let it drop?" Lennie asked his partner hoping Ed would be a good egg about it, because he wasn't sure he could explain exactly what was wrong between him and Anita, except that his parting words left a lot up in the air. 

"OK, but I got to warn you if you two keep acting squirrelly someone else is gonna notice, and well, it just looks weird," Ed said. 

Just then they arrived at the crime scene. It looked to be a domestic dispute gone very badly. A woman and her lover were dead and of course the initial suspect was the husband. The preliminary investigation didn't turn up much but lasted just long enough to run into their lunch hour, so the partners agreed to have lunch before they went back to the precinct to write up their initial notes, wait for the M.E.'s report and anything the forensic lab might turn up from the evidence gathered at the crime scene. They passed the lunch rather quietly as Lennie thought about the evening before; he felt his parting words had left the ball in Anita's court. 

* * *

When they arrived back at the precinct, Lt. Van Buren asked them to come into her office. Ed & Lennie both thought she'd want a preliminary report on the double homicide they'd just caught. 

"The husband or one of the teenage kids is probably good for it," Lennie began but Van Buren waived him off. 

"You better pass your theories and your notes off to Cordova and Johnson. The three of us have a meeting at One Police Plaza in about a half hour with the head of the Organized Crime Control Bureau," Van Buren told them. 

"Really, to what do we owe the honor?" Green asked. 

"Well, you owe it to being Briscoe's partner because the request came in for me, Briscoe and his partner," Van Buren answered. 

"Anymore details than that?" Lennie asked. 

"Only that it's a brief undercover op," she replied. 

"Look, if we're gonna make it over to One Police Plaza on time you better go hand off that case to Cordova and meet me in the garage," Anita suggested. 

* * *

Ed Green thought the short drive over to One Police Plaza wouldn't end. There was something about being in a car filled with tension, which Ed was beginning to suspect was sexual in nature, that made time seem to drag. 

When they made it to the conference room they found the Commissioner of the OCCB William Tate, a tall silver haired man in his early 60s and the commander of the task force for the Russian mob, George Michaels, a shorter dark haired man in his early 50s, as well as EADA Jack McCoy. Introductions were made, with the exception of Van Buren and Michaels, as he had been her commanding officer when she worked in Narcotics. 

Lennie was glad Jack McCoy had decided he could handle the meeting without his assistant Serena Southerlyn. The young ADA seemed to have a crush on him and Lennie found it a bit annoying. He knew a lot of men his age, no correction a lot of men of any age, would consider themselves lucky to have a beautiful, intelligent young woman interested in them, but Lennie wasn't interested in her. He smiled to himself ruefully, that was his problem he didn't want what he could have and couldn't have what he wanted. 

"Lieutenant, detectives please take seats so we can explain what we need your help with," Commissioner Tate said cutting into Lennie's musings, motioning to three empty places around a conference table. 

"Commander Michaels perhaps you could do the honors," Tate said as he relinquished the floor to the younger man. 

"I'm sure you are aware that in organized crime families it is not to uncommon for there to be falling outs and those family arguments can escalate into all out gang wars which generally generate a lot of casualties amongst innocent bystanders. The Russian crime syndicate is on the verge of such a war. An informant inside one of the key families has tipped us off to the hiring of a professional assassin. We believe if we can get close to this hit man, we can, not only prevent the assassinations thus heading off the war, but we also hope to be able to deal a serious blow to the Russian syndicate at the same time," Michaels explained. 

"So, how do we three fit in to your grand scheme to derail the Russian Syndicate's juggernaut?" Lennie asked. 

"Well, according to our informant this hit man isn't local or Russian. We don't have a real name, but his nickname is 'the hustler'. According to our informant the word has been put out on the street to look for something special to make the hit man a happy camper. This 'hustler' has some very interesting tastes. He likes a very challenging game of pool, preferably 8 ball," Michaels looked at Lennie and just about everyone's head nodded in acknowledgement of his prowess with a cue, "and his favorite table stakes is the other player's girlfriend, particularly if she's a sweet little piece of brown sugar," Michaels said and looked at Anita Van Buren, who gave him a pained look. 

"So, what's the plan here?" Ed asked, thinking he knew what it was and it might be a disaster. 

"We've got a warrant and have put in tight surveillance at a pool hall in a mixed neighborhood that's on the Russian mob's turf. We put Lennie and Anita in the pool hall this evening to establish two things, 1) Lennie's a hell of a pool player and 2) Anita's his main squeeze. Then, hopefully tomorrow night, the hustler show's up and wins Anita from Lennie," Michaels concluded. 

"Wait, I'm supposed to BET her and you want me to lose?" Lennie asked in disbelief. 

"Yeah that's the idea, that way she'll be on the inside-" 

Lennie stood up and yelled at Michaels pointing his finger at him as he made each of his points, "On the inside, with a guy who makes his living killing people, and who thinks a woman is an object, something you put on the rail instead of money!" 

"Lennie, Lennie calm down," Anita said as she pulled him back into his seat. 

"Look, I know you've been trying to put this together on the fly before this guy gets too established here, but I think Detective Briscoe's got a point. You can't send Lieutenant Van Buren off with this guy to who knows where with no protection," Jack McCoy argued. 

"You afraid of this set up, Anita?" Michaels asked his former subordinate in a challenging tone. 

"Honestly George? Yeah, because I've got no idea where I'm going with this guy and no idea whether back up could ever get there in time," she replied. 

"Well, I guess this was a waste of time. I had no idea the Anita Van Buren I knew from our days in Narcotics had lost her edge riding a desk," Michaels commented angrily. 

"Easy Michaels, " Commissioner Tate warned. 

"Look, let's not throw the baby out with the bath water here," McCoy said. "Let's go ahead with getting the hit man to the pool hall, at least then we know who he is and maybe we can arrest him on something else. If he's not a local or a Russian maybe he's wanted somewhere else in the US or Europe," he suggested. 

"Yeah, we pull him in on some warrant or something or maybe -" Lennie got up and started pacing as he was thinking. 

"You know whom we're missing in this meeting?" he said as he turned to Jack McCoy. 

"Who, Lennie?" Jack asked. 

"The shrink, Skoda. I bet he could predict how this guy might react if I refused to use Anita as a bet or if I did bet her, but then beat him," Lennie proposed. 

"How do you know you could beat him?" Michaels asked testily. 

Jack McCoy answered for Lennie, "I've watched the detective play pool. In a straight up, honest game of 8 ball no one can beat him." 

"What do you think, we run Lennie's idea past Emil Skoda and get a recommendation on how to play this?' Jack asked the OCCB commissioner. Tate nodded. 

"May as well," Michaels conceded, realizing his original plan was toast. "Well Anita, guess you get to pull your slinky undercover clothes and those 4-inch stilettos out of mothballs after all," Michaels teased. 

"Uh, speaking of looking the part, my partner here, no offense man," Ed acknowledged Lennie, "well he just doesn't quite look like a successful pool hustler," Ed Green observed. 

"Lend me your good leather jacket and I'll match it up with a nice silk shirt and a good pair of pants, then if the department will pop for a first-class car and a roll of green stuff for flash, we're almost set, " Lennie countered. 

"Almost? What else do you need?" Jack asked with a smile. 

"Last time I played pool for money in New York State I was threatened with loosing my shield," Lennie said to Jack very seriously. 

"OK, you've got prosecutorial immunity for any gambling necessary to the undercover operation," Jack promised, then as a joke added. "And you can keep whatever you win." 

"OK, the surveillance van is set to be in position at 7PM. You should make arrangements to ride with them Green," Michaels informed Ed. 

"Briscoe, you pick up a roll of bills down in property and then that flashy car you want at the police garage, then don't you go near the garage, or anything else that might give the Russians the tip off that you're an undercover cop," Michaels. 

"Right," Lennie said, thinking to himself that Michaels' last comment was just another sign that he was a moron. 

"Lennie when we get an idea from Skoda we'll send the info in with Ed," Jack said. "Ed what's your cover gonna be?" 

"Well I was thinking I'd be the Lieutenant's baby brother and I'll come in and mooch some money from my big sister's trick over there," Ed teased. 

"Oh yeah, having to give money to her no count brother will definitely make people think she's my woman," Lennie observed drolly. 

"OK scatter folks, we've only got a few hours to pull this together," Michaels said as everyone began moving out of the conference room. 

"It'd be easier to do that if we had the address of the pool hall," Lennie observed and an embarrassed Michaels quickly made sure everyone had the information they needed. 

As they got out in the hall, Lennie asked Ed and Anita, "OK, anyone got an idea where I can get a nice silk shirt?" 

Anita grinned, Ed laughed and shook his head then said, "Come on Bro, after we get your flash roll, we'll go do some shopping." 

Ed then turned and said "You won't hardly recognize him when I get done with him." 

"That's what I'm afraid of," Anita said while laughing. 

"I'm going to take a cab back to the 2-7 and then I'm gonna cut out a bit early, so I can get ready for this evening," Anita told the two detectives. 

"Uh, just remember it's a pool hall not a black tie affair," Lennie quipped. 

"OK. I'll try," she teased. 

"Oh and Lennie, I'll meet you at your apartment a little before 7, OK?" she asked. 

"Uh, sure that should work out fine," Lennie said a bit nervously. 

"Hey, partner you got a date with the boss," Ed teased after the two men got out of earshot. 

"Shut up Ed," Lennie snapped. 

"Right, shutting up." 

* * *

Lennie stood shirtless in front of the mirror in his bathroom. He brushed his hair, trying to get it to look just right. Then he splashed on some cologne, shrugged into the new white silk shirt he'd bought, buttoned it up and was just tucking the shirt tail into his new charcoal grey slacks when his doorbell rang. He hurriedly threaded his new black alligator skin belt through his pant loops as he went to answer the door and was just fastening the buckle as he opened the door. 

He stood there for a good 10 seconds taking in the vision in front of him. Lennie started at the 4-inch black high heel pumps on Anita's feet, proceeded up her curvaceous nylon clad legs, up to the short skirt of the red knit dress she wore, then lingered a moment at the gold chain cinched around her waist before following up to the tempting cleavage that peeked over the scooped neckline, he continued on up to the beautiful bare shoulders and neck and then finally looked into her grinning face. 

"Do I pass inspection?" she asked. 

Her voice finally broke the spell and Lennie stepped back to let her into his apartment. 

"Do you ever! Wow, I hope I can keep my mind on the game," he blurted out. 

"Uh, I have to get my jacket and stick, be just a minute," Lennie said. 

As he walked away, Anita appreciated the drape of the material of both his shirt and his slacks. "Sorry I'm running late, Ed insisted I buy my own leather jacket rather than borrowing his, so the shopping trip took longer than I would have anticipated," Lennie called from his bedroom, a few seconds later he emerged with a black leather jacket slung over his right shoulder and a small but long and slender rectangular wooden case under his arm. 

"Then I had a hard time finding my ankle holster," he called as he walked into the living room. He went to a hall closet and placed his jacket and the box containing his cue stick on a chair that sat near the closet. He pulled his gun down from a lock box on the top shelf of the closet, and then putting his right foot up on the chair, he placed the gun in the holster just under his right pant leg. He put on his leather jacket and picked up the cue case. 

"After you my lady," he said and added silently, please let her be MY lady. 

* * *

Lennie worked the remote to unlock the passenger door of the silver 2003 Lexus SC sport coupe parked in front of his apartment building, then moved in front of Anita to open the door for her. 

"My lady's chariot," he said as stood back to let her in. 

"Not bad," she said as she dropped gracefully into the seat. 

Lennie walked around to the driver's side and got in. 

He smiled at her and said, "Just wait," then he pressed a button on the dash and the car transformed into a convertible. 

"Oh, my! You and Ed must have had the times of your lives driving this on your little shopping excursion," Anita said. 

"No, I'm having the time of my life right now," Lennie said in a smooth voice that sent chills up Anita's spine. 

Just before Lennie pulled away from the curb, he turned the CD player on and the car's excellent stereo system started pumping out Frank Sinatra singing All Or Nothing At All. 

'Riding through Manhattan in a convertible with a handsome man I adore, love songs pumping out of the stereo,' Anita thought 'this would be perfect if not for the feel of the Smith & Wesson snub nose .38 strapped inside my thigh and the fact that I'm suppose to be playing the bait in an undercover operation'. 

"So any idea what this car costs?" Anita asked by way of distracting herself. 

"About as much as my first house," Lennie answered. 

"Listen we ought to cover a few things about our persona for this operation. I think the closer we play to the truth the better. I don't expect you to have to do a lot of talking but if you have to, try not to get too carried away creating back story for us, OK?" 

"Alright some simple things then. We aren't married to each other but each of us has been married in the past. OK?" she asked. 

"Correction, you're still married but in the process of getting a divorce," Lennie responded, 

"What about kids? Jobs?" she asked. 

"You've got two grown sons Ric and Stefan and I've got a daughter, Julia that I don't get to see very much" he replied. 

"See how easy it is if we stick to the truth?" Lennie asked and she nodded. 

"What about jobs?" she asked. 

"Uh, I shoot stick and play the ponies at the OTB. So I guess you'd have to say I'm a professional gambler. You are an office manager supervising a bunch of insurance investigators, but I don't like you're working, so you don't like to talk about it around me," he ad libbed. 

"Where do we live?" she asked. 

"We each have our own place until your divorce is final because your ex is a jerk, who will make the divorce drag out if you live with me," Lennie answered. 

"How long have we been together? How did we meet?" Anita asked. 

"Uh, hey it's your turn to come up with some of this stuff." Lennie said not wanting to write the whole back-story as he felt he might give away some of his feelings in doing so. 

"We've been lovers for a long time, I didn't get divorced because of my kids, but now that they're grown, I'm going through with it. We met at the OTB a long time ago; my kid brother Ed introduced us. He sort of looks up to you like you're his mentor" she suggested. 

"Uh well, hope we covered enough stuff cause this is the place," Lennie said. 

"Wave you're on candid camera, see the surveillance van over there," she pointed down the street a ways. 

"Yeah, hey don't do that," Lennie said as Anita started to open the door to the car. She looked at him puzzled. 

"I want to put the top up and besides, I'd like to help you out of the car. It's just one of those little things, you know?" he asked. 

"OK, but its easier getting out of a convertible than a sport coupe," she said as she let the door close. 

"Uh, OK, just a second," Lennie hopped out of the car, went around to the passenger side and opened her door and helped her out. He then went back to the driver's side, reached into the back seat for his cue case, then put the top back up and closed the windows, before locking up. 

"Let's go make an entrance, baby," Lennie said as he guided her to the entrance of the pool hall.

* * *

Lennie hadn't known quite what to expect from the address. It could have been a very new state of the art pool hall with the bright open feel of the chain entertainment places or an old crummy poorly lit place, fortunately it was somewhere in the middle. The hall had three tournament quality tables all with good overhead lighting. It also had some tables for card players and a couple of dartboards, along one wall there was an old fashioned bar with nice red leather stools. There appeared to be a small kitchen behind the bar and he saw people in the hall sipping both hard and soft drinks and a few people snacking on sandwiches and chips. The two tables at the back of the hall were already occupied; he could tell the game at the far table was a friendly one between a mixed foursome, probably a double date. The middle table seemed to be more serious and he noticed that one of the players had a "custom" cue, one of those mass produced cues that they charged guys a lot of money for but that weren't worth much more than the run of the mill ones hanging in the racks. 

He guided Anita to one of the bar stools near the center table. He put his cue case down on the bar and then placed his hands along her sides and easily picked her up and placed her on the bar stool, saying, "Here baby, you'll have a good view of the action from here". 

Anita crossed her legs and adjusted her skirt, then pulled Lennie to her by his shirt collar and whispered to him. Lennie looked down and then leaned in to whisper in her ear. They exchanged grins. 

In the surveillance van Ed and the AV techs Ann Scott and Alfie Kiefer were checking out how the microphones and cameras were working. 

"Wonder what that exchange was about?" Ed asked. 

"Van Buren asked him to check and see if her gun was showing and he said he didn't see anything but gorgeous legs," Alfie responded. 

"How do you know that?" Ed asked. 

"I read lips," Kiefer replied. 

"Wow, even if we don't hear it, you can tell what's going down?" 

"Yeah, as long as I can see their lips, the camera placements won't always allow that, but she's pretty much front and center," Kiefer replied. 

Lennie ordered a club soda for himself and a diet coke with a twist of lime for Anita. She gave him a look because it was something she really liked but couldn't ever remember telling him about. Then she realized that if someone paid close attention to her at a social gathering they might pick up on it and over the past 12 years she supposed there'd been a few dozen such social events. It made her feel good to think he paid attention and bothered to remember. 

Lennie sauntered over to the central table, "So would the winner of this game be up for a little match?" he asked. 

"Yeah I guess so, Pops, but we play for money you know," the fellow with the custom cue said. 

"Not a problem, just name your stakes," Lennie countered. 

"Ten bucks a ball for every ball you pocket plus thirty for the eight ball," Custom Cue stated. 

"OK, I'll be right over there with my lady when you two are done," Lennie said. 

"A c note a game, this ought to be fun," Lennie told Anita. 

When 'Custom Cue', as Lennie had started thinking of the young man, won the game he called out, "Hey Pops, I'm ready for you, now." 

Lennie grimaced at the nickname but took off his leather jacket and hung it over the back of the bar stool Anita was sitting on, then he opened his cue case and removed the butt and shaft of his cue and quickly screwed them together at the joint. As he did so the loser of the previous game racked the balls. 

"The name's Lennie, you got a name or should I call you Kid?" Lennie asked. 

"Eric," Custom Cue replied, "go ahead and break." 

"Any unusual house rules I should be aware of?" Lennie asked as he approached the table. 

"Nothing weird, clean eight, no jump shots and we alternate breaks, those are the only things I can think of," Eric answered. 

Lennie placed the cue ball on the head spot and with a smooth stroke that belied its power, sent the cue ball smashing through the racked balls just off dead center. Several balls found their ways to the corner pockets at the foot of the table and the cue ball fetched up in an easily accessible place. 

Lennie walked around the side of the table and down to the table's foot, studying the layout of the object balls in relationship to the cue ball. Lennie wasn't your average pool player who thought about the best shot on the table at the moment, he wasn't even the above average player who thought about where he should try to leave the cue ball so he could set himself up for the next shot, Lennie was a great pool player, he thought about what he could do off the break to run the table. Lennie was the sort of player who got angry with himself when he didn't perfectly execute the plan he made off the break. But he wasn't to be angry with himself this time because about eight minutes after he broke, he called and pocketed the eight ball and with it a hundred dollars of Eric's money. 

People in the pool hall who were casual players were impressed, but the really good players like Eric were astounded because they appreciated how easy Lennie made the difficult shots seem. Lennie offered Eric several more games winning them all. After Lennie had beat him five straight games Lennie asked him if he was still up for another game, Eric agreed even though he knew he'd be soundly beaten and he was getting down to the end of his cash roll. He simply wanted to watch a master at work. As the balls were being racked Eric called to his friend Joe and told him they should call Steve to come down and play Lennie. The guys agreed that Steve was a guy who might be able to give Lennie a run for his money. Lennie told Eric to go ahead and break and he went over to get a refill on his club soda and check on Anita. 

"Well, the guppies have called for the minnow, hopefully the minnow will bring us the big fish," Lennie whispered to Anita as he headed back toward the table. 

* * *

"What did he say to her?" Ed asked Alfie. 

"I'm not sure, I think he said 'the guppies have called for the minnow hopefully the minnow will bring us the big fish', you know what he means?" Alfie asked. 

"You ever hear of a pool shark?" Ed asked and Alfie nodded "Lennie's our shark, the hit man is the big fish, these guys he's playing are calling in better players and that will get the word out about Lennie." 

"Unfortunately unless he steps it up in the romance department, the story may not include that he's got a black girlfriend, and that was suppose to be an important part of the plan wasn't it." Ann observed. 

"What do you mean?" Ed asked. 

"Other than the first little interplay when they went in there, there's been very little between them. See that guy?" Ann pointed at a guy leaning at the end of the bar. 

"Yeah?" Ed said. 

"I think he's working up to hitting on her. He probably figures she's just a friend of Lennie's, or that Lennie's using her as a beard," Ann said. 

"Whoa, I definitely will not let it get out of this van that you suggested that or you'll get laughed from here to Hoboken," Ed said by way of defending his partner. "But I definitely think I better go talk to my big sister's trick and get him to pay a bit more attention to her," Ed said and started putting on his jacket. 

* * *

By the time Ed reached the pool hall Eric had made the break and had pocketed a few balls but then missed a shot. He had commented to Lennie that he was sorry to hook him, implying he'd left Lennie without a shot, but Lennie put a lot of English on the ball and made it curve around his opponent's ball and strike one of his, sinking the ball and setting him up to run the table. 

"Hey Lennie, " Ed said as he came close to the table, "can I talk to you for a second". 

"Uh, Eric, you mind if I take a little break to talk to my man here?" Lennie asked. 

"No problem, Lennie." 

Lennie moved a way from the table to an area where he could speak a bit more freely. 

"So what's up, info from Skoda? What?" Lennie asked. 

"No, an observation, you're doing real good on selling the being a pool shark bit, but don't know that people are gonna buy that you're Anita's man. I think you better get over what ever it is between you and her and start acting like she's your woman," Ed said. 

"Yeah, OK, I hear you," Lennie said a little miffed. "Look, we need to put on a little show here as a cover story. I'm gonna give you some money, you start to leave and then I'm gonna make you come back. I think you'll know what to do then," Lennie said, then peeled off a couple hundred dollars for Ed. Ed started to leave the pool hall. 

"Hey, what do you think you're doing? You can't come in here, bum money off me and then run off and not even say hello to your sister," Lennie yelled at Ed, but he smiled at him so the crowd in the hall would know he wasn't really mad at Ed. 

"Oh, yeah, " Ed said shyly and then went over to Anita. He whispered in her ear about what he'd told Lennie and she looked a bit upset, then said she understood and Ed left. 

In that short time, Lennie had finished off another game and said he wanted to take a short break, but would play this guy Steve when he got here. 

Lennie walked over to Anita and found he was incredibly nervous. He wanted to 'romance' Anita, but not because he would be putting on a show for someone. He wanted to kiss her, but he wanted to know that she wanted that too. He just wasn't sure what to do. 

He stood very close to her, his right side next to her left. He used his right hand to cup the back of her head and he pulled her face to his for a kiss. The kiss was gentle and he didn't put any pressure on her to open her mouth to him, but she did. He gently probed her mouth with his tongue and she responded to him. Soon their tongues were doing an age-old dance. Lennie was startled but thrilled that she seemed to want him as much as he wanted her and then surprised to realize they were both trembling. He pulled out of the kiss and put small kisses on her face, and then he whispered in her ear. 

* * *

"What did he say to her," Ann asked Alfie just as Ed returned to the van. 

"Uh, it doesn't have anything to do with the operation," Alfie said evasively. 

"What did he say to her?" Ed asked more forcefully. 

Alfie looked up at Ed with an expression that said he really didn't want to say, but he finally gave in. 

"He said he'd wanted to kiss her for a long time," Alfie finally related. 

"Yeah, that had to figure," Ed said and then sat down to think. 

They looked back at the screen and could see that Lennie and Anita were kissing again, and then they heard someone in the hall yell 'Hello Steve'. 

* * *

"I think the minnow has arrived," Lennie told Anita as he continued to place kisses on her face. 

"You'll need to go back to work?" she asked, trying not to sound disappointed. 

"Yes, but remember I have two jobs tonight and you are a big part of one of them," Lennie said. 

When he saw her expression change, he could tell she was taking what he'd just said the wrong way. 

"Hey, I said it was a part of my job, I didn't say I thought it was work," he said and kissed her again. The kiss went on and on and the couple began to forget where they were and what they were supposed to be doing. 

"Hey Lennie, you gonna shoot stick or love up your woman?" Eric yelled. 

Lennie eased out of the kiss he was sharing with Anita and then walked back to the table he'd been playing at all night. 

"Well, hopefully both, but for right now I'll play some more 8 ball if you can find anyone to give me a match," he responded. 

Eric introduced Steve a handsome young man with dark eyes and a flashing smile. He and Lennie agreed to play a match of 8 ball for a thousand dollars. They agreed to lag for the first break with Lennie winning. He ran the table on every game he broke on and when Steve broke he won the game as soon as Steve missed a shot. People in the hall had long since quit playing at the other tables or other games and were watching the match. A couple of guys were placing side bets on things like whether Lennie'd run the table again on his break or whether he'd make a difficult combo. After game six, Alfie saw some men talking at a table. He worked hard on picking up their conversation and told Ed they'd hit pay dirt. The guys were talking about how Lennie fit what the boss wanted exactly for his European guest, a pool shark with a black girlfriend. In about an hour and a half Lennie had won the requisite 9 games and Steve handed over the thousand dollars. Lennie watched Steve's face to see if the younger man was angry. 

"You're wondering if I'm mad aren't you?" Steve asked. 

"Yeah, well the thought crossed my mind," Lennie said. 

"Nah, I'm not sore, it was almost like attending a clinic. I think I actually learned a few of your moves. Though I doubt I'll ever be able to size up a table the way you do after a break. You be back tomorrow night?" Steve asked. 

Lennie looked back at Anita, noticing that she was talking to a young woman, "Maybe, it depends." 

"On what? Whether your woman will let you out of the house?" Eric teased. 

Lennie laughed, "No, on whether there'll be anyone here wants to play me. I mean there's only one thing I'm good at that I do for free." 

Steve laughed and said, "I promise you Lennie we'll find somebody to play you even if Pete's got to pony up the stake, right Pete?" 

The man behind the bar smiled and waved a bar towel at them. 

"Speaking of Pete," Lennie said and walked back over to Anita. He handed her the money he'd earned that night and she put it in her evening bag, then broke his stick down and put it away in his case. He picked up his leather jacket and put it on and then helped Anita down off the bar stool, letting her slide down his body when he did so, just to enjoy the feel of her body against his. He turned to Pete, the hall owner, and asked him, "What do I owe you for the use of the table?" 

"Nothing, nothing! It was a joy to watch a man who really knows how to shoot stick, you come in anytime you want to play, Lennie, no charge!" Pete said enthusiastically. 

With that he turned to gather Anita to him and found she was saying goodnight to the young woman who had been sitting next to her during his match with Steve. He waited for her to finish and then they left with him saying goodbye to people in the hall like some sort of rock star trying to leave a venue. Once they were out of the pool hall he asked Anita, "Who was that young woman you were talking to?" 

"Steve's girlfriend. Boy am I glad we talked about a back-story, I needed it all to keep the conversation flowing with her," Anita answered. 

Lennie unlocked the car doors but he didn't open the door for Anita and she looked at him as he walked around the car trying to figure out what was wrong with him all of a sudden. Lennie opened his door and threw his cue case in the back seat of the car. He got in and started the engine and when the CD player came back on he reached out and turned it off quickly. He began the drive back to his apartment, traveling well above the recommended speed limit, and remained quiet as Anita talked a little bit about the operation. It had been agreed that the two of them should be careful about contacting people involved in the operations in case they were being followed by operatives of the Russian Syndicate, but she said knowing George Michaels he'd probably try to contact one of them for a progress report. 

Lennie was confused by his own sudden change of attitude. All he knew was when he looked at the car he suddenly had a premonition. He'd get into that car with her and at some point she'd tell him they had to talk, then she'd start going on about how they couldn't have a relationship because it was against department regulations and he didn't want to face that. He couldn't stand to think that he and Anita couldn't be together because of some stupid regulation; it wasn't fair. His fear of that confrontation was turning sideways into anger. He pushed the speed of the car up a little more as he thought about it. 

"Lennie, please slow down! " Anita said becoming alarmed at his speeding through the streets of Manhattan. Lennie sighed and tamped on the brakes lightly, bringing the car back down to a more reasonable speed. 

"Lennie, why are you angry at me? Have I done something wrong?" Anita asked confused and hurt. 

"What? No, I'm not angry at you and you haven't done anything wrong, it's just-" 

"What? Lennie what's bothering you?" Anita asked her concern for him clear in her voice. 

Just then they reached Lennie's apartment building and he pulled into the first available space he could find in the building's parking lot. He turned the car's engine off and turned in his seat to face Anita more directly. 

"I just had this sense that when we were alone you'd say we had to talk, and I don't think I want to have that conversation, that's all," Lennie said and then looked down at his hands not wanting to meet her gaze. 

Anita sighed, "Well, we do have to talk whether you want to or not." 

"Yeah, I know, "Lennie said and he sighed too. As he thought about it, if he had to have this conversation with her he wanted to try and have all the advantages so he'd ask her to talk up in his apartment, on his turf so to speak, and he'd made up his mind that if they were gonna fight about this he wasn't gonna fight fair. All was fair in love and war and he loved her. 

"Come on, let's talk about this up in my apartment," Lennie said as he got out of the car and grabbed his cue case. He walked around to her side of the car and opened the door to help her out. 

Anita realized what he was doing by suggesting that they have 'the conversation' in his apartment but she decided she'd let him have his way. She knew this conversation was going to be a painful one and she didn't want to hurt him any more than she had to, actually she didn't want to hurt him at all. She wasn't looking forward to this conversation any more than he was. 

"OK, let's go and talk this out," she said as she put her hand in his. 


	3. Ch 3 Communications

**Part 3 Communication**

Lennie unlocked his apartment's front door and let Anita in. He went straight way to the chair next to his closet and took his gun from his ankle holster and put it in his lock box. 

"Is that your way of putting off this conversation or are you just getting temptation out of the way," Anita asked him with a laugh. 

"Uh, neither. Just a force of habit, I started taking my gun off and putting it in the lock box as soon as I came home when Cathy was just a baby. Guess some habits are hard to break," he said with a grin as he removed his leather jacket and hung it in the closet. 

"You want a cup of coffee or something?" he asked her, feeling awkward and not really wanting to get into the conversation immediately. 

"No, I just want to sit down and talk about this," she said firmly. 

"OK, how about over here," Lennie said and directed her to his couch. 

Anita sat on the couch and allowed her shoes to fall off as she pulled her feet up and tucked them under herself on the couch. Lennie sat in the corner of the couch and laid his right arm along the back of the couch and his left arm on the couch's arm. 

"You know what I'm gonna say," she said. 

"Yeah, but I'm still gonna make you say it," he countered. 

She sighed, "OK," she said and nodded, "we can't do this," she waved her hand between the two of them. "We can't have a relationship." 

"Why not?" Lennie asked tersely. "Have I gotten all the signals wrong? Am I the only one with these kinds of feelings?" 

"No, I care for you," Anita replied, and then looking down she continued more softly, "I love you," she said in an almost anguished tone. 

"And I love you," Lennie said moving forward to capture one of her hands, "and that's all we need for a relationship". 

"No, no it isn't," Anita said emphatically, though tears were forming in her eyes. "We can't ignore the anti-fraternization regulations." 

"Why the hell not? We love each other, why should we let the fucking NYPD tell us we can't be together?" Lennie said hotly. 

"Lennie, there are good reasons the department has the policy," Anita argued. 

"Are you telling me that if we were lovers it would affect how you do your job or how I do mine?" he challenged her. "Would you make assignments differently? Handle disciplinary actions differently?" 

"I, I don't know. " she answered and he looked at her with an expression that said he wasn't buying her prevarication, "Alright, no. No it wouldn't effect how I run the squad. I mean, I might be a little more careful about when I schedule you to be on call," he smiled at her when she said that, "and I'd have my heart in my mouth when you had to go out and make a tough arrest, but no it wouldn't change how I ran the squad." 

"So why should that damn policy's existence mean we can't be together?" Lennie said beginning to feel that he was definitely winning this argument; he just needed to confront each reason Anita brought up head on. 

"What if someone finds out about us and files a grievance?" she asked. 

"First of all, I can't imagine anyone in the squad doing that, but if they do, we face what ever IAB investigation occurs. If IAB metes out some form of disciplinary action I can't imagine it would be that bad," he said. 

"Oh really? And what if they take you permanently out of the field or force you off the force? Didn't you tell me being a detective is all you've ever wanted to do with your life" Anita countered. 

"Kick me off the force for fraternizing? I don't think so," Lennie said. 

"Are you forgetting that I'm not exactly the department's fair-haired girl? They'd probably love to do something really severe to both of us just to get back at me. I couldn't stand it if they did something to hurt you!" Anita said again very near to tears. 

"The only things that are hurting me are the thought of us not being together and seeing tears in your eyes," Lennie said as he scooted closer to her and then pulled her back into his arms. 

"Look if you are so worried about us getting caught in this anti-fraternization policy, I'll transfer out of the 2-7," he offered. 

She turned a bit so she could see him better, "Are you crazy? You have to list a reason on the transfer request. What are you gonna say? I want to transfer so I can bang my lieutenant?" she asked. 

"Hey, I don't want to bang you, I want to make love to you and the sooner the better," Lennie said and began kissing and caressing her. 

Anita turned and put a hand in his chest and scooted back to her original position on the couch. 

"Down boy, we haven't finished hashing this out yet," she countered. 

Lennie sighed. 

"Look, you think about when cops get transferred. They get transferred when they get promoted, when another cop retires, gets killed or severely injured or when there's a problem with another officer, none of those things are gonna play," she said. 

"Well, I suppose I could put in an application for sergeant detective," Lennie said. 

"Oh yeah, that wouldn't be suspicious at all, I mean you only passed the sergeant exam what -15 years ago? And you've never once applied for a promotion based on that exam. Makes me wonder why you bothered to take the stupid thing in the first place. After all this time they'd probably make you retake it," Anita said. 

"OK, if I can't transfer, I'll retire. I've got plenty of years in," Lennie suggested. 

"You, retire? And do what?" she asked. 

"I don't know maybe start a PI business," Lennie suggested. Anita rolled her eyes at him. 

"Look what's going on here. Didn't you just say you loved me?" Lennie asked a bit exasperated. 

"Yes, I do and because I do, I want what's best for you. I'm not sure that being with me is what's best for you, not if it means you might lose the one thing you love to do!" 

Lennie leaned forward again and took her face in his right hand. "Baby, being a detective isn't the only thing I love to do and I'm trying to tell you, I'm willing to give it up if we can be together." 

"But I don't want you to have to give anything up," Anita whined. 

"God, woman you're driving me nuts, just shut up and kiss me," Lennie ordered. 

Anita looked shocked but complied and Lennie decided he'd wasted a lot time and words, this was how to convince her. After all actions speak louder than words. He eased out of the kiss and began setting forth a plan. 

"This is what we're going to do. We're going to have a relationship. We'll be discreet about it until your divorce is through though. We are also going to investigate this fraternization policy and see if there is a way around it. OK?" Lennie asked, but in a way that said he really expected her to go along with him. 

"OK," she said with a smile, realizing how much she'd wanted him to just take charge and convince her that their being together was the right thing. 

"Well, I'm on a roll here, so I'm gonna make one more suggestion," Lennie said as he began moving closer to her, running his hands over her arms and legs. 

"What's that?" Anita asked. 

"Let's move to the bedroom," Lennie suggested as he motioned with his head toward the bedroom then stood and offered her his hand. 

When she stood up, Anita quickly reached under her skirt and took off her thigh holster and gun. The action and the sudden appearance of her gun spooked Lennie for a second, but then Anita said "OK, but how about you put this in your lock box first?" 

Lennie laughed a bit and said, "OK, I think things will probably go better without it," and he took the gun to the front closet. 

He came back to her and led her by the hand to his bed. Something he saw on her face made him stop for a moment, "Anita, am I pushing you too fast here?" 

"No, its just, it's been a long time and I, I'm afraid I may disappoint you," she said, looking down at her stocking covered feet. 

Lennie made her lift her face to look at him by placing two fingers of his right hand under her chin. 

"You'll never disappoint me," Lennie said and leaned down to kiss her mouth tenderly. 

His words warmed her heart and Anita put her right hand behind his neck, burrowing her fingers into the hair at the back of his head. Her other hand began stroking his chest through the silk of his shirt. Lennie pulled her more tightly to him his strong hands grasping her at her left shoulder and right hip, trapping her hand between them. She pushed him away a bit and began working the buttons to his shirt, so she could touch his bare skin. When she got his shirt opened, she ran her fingers through his thick chest hair. Her red lacquered fingernails shone through the dark hairs that were shot with silver, as she searched out his nipples. 

Lennie felt his skin catch fire with her touch and he knew his heart and mind would be fighting his body for control all night long. His body was screaming at him to make short work of Anita's clothes and throw her down on the bed and take her, but his heart and mind were telling him to take things slowly and savor their first time together. He began kissing her jaw line and moved toward her ear intending to suck her earlobe into his mouth but he encountered her gold hoop earring. She smiled up at him and took both earrings off and tossed them on the nightstand, then turned and pulled his shirttail out of his pants and then pushed his shirt off his shoulders. 

"Hey, you're getting ahead of me, " he said, as he removed the gold chain belt at her waist. 

She grinned and laughed at him and then gave a startled half yelp half laugh as he took the hem of her dress and pulled it over her head in one deft motion. He drank in the beautiful image of her in her bra, panties and stockings, but she looked self-conscious under his scrutiny. He knew that even a woman with as good a self-image as Anita had could still buy into the lies society told about what constituted a beautiful female body. To him she was feminine perfection, all soft round curves that his hands itched to hold. Before she could grow more self-conscious, he had to do something, say something. 

"You are so beautiful, so desirable," he told her in a voice thick with desire, and then he held her tight to him so she could feel his arousal through the fabric of his trousers. He could feel his body growing more and more impatient, but it was his full intention to make slow, worshipful love to her. He intended to let his fingers and tongue caress and lave her body into frenzy. He wanted to hear her whimper with pleasure under his gentle ministrations, then and only then would he allow himself the joy of joining their bodies as one. 

She suddenly became more assertive, unbuckling his belt and undoing the fastener to his trousers then unzipping them and pushing them down. When he realized he was "being pantsed", he toed off his shoes as well. Soon he was standing in front of her in boxers and socks, he said, "I'm the one who should feel self-conscious. I'm just an old, pot bellied, knobby kneed white guy". 

"I don't agree," Anita said, "besides even if you were, you're my knobby kneed white guy, "she emphasized her point by pressing her hand against him through his boxers. 

To get even, he deftly snapped open her strapless bra and then held her ample breasts in his large hands. Anita didn't want to think what his dexterity with the clasp implied about the number of women he'd been with and with his kneading her breasts and rubbing her nipples with his thumbs she wasn't really in any condition to think anyway. 

Soon they were both nude and he was lowering her to the bed. The way she reacted to him let him know she'd probably never been with a man who didn't just rush to the "main event" so to speak, regardless of whether she was ready for that or not. Even if he weren't with the woman he loved, he wouldn't be so insensitive. He tried to clue her in by telling her he hoped she wasn't disappointed, but he just wasn't a "slam, bam and thank you ma'am" kind of man. She was perplexed at first, but as Lennie began his quest to please her, to love her thoroughly, she began to understand and to have the most satisfying sexual experience of her life. 

After he brought her to a second climax with his very talented hands, he finally allowed himself to be where he had so longed to be, inside the woman he loved. It didn't take long for him to bring her to the edge again and the sound of his lover calling his name sent him over the edge with her. Before collapsing exhausted from their lovemaking, he reversed their positions, so she was laid part way on top of him as he sprawled on his back. 

She kissed him and then noticed that his face was wet. "Lennie, are you crying? 

He brushed at the tears on his face and said, "Sorry". 

"No, don't apologize. You haven't done anything wrong. I just wondered why you were crying," she said. 

"I guess I was just overwhelmed. Making love to you was the most amazing thing I've ever experienced in my life and-" she silenced him with a kiss. 

"Oh Lennie," she said, as she laid her head on his chest. He stroked her hair and tucked her into his side. He realized that she understood him and felt as he did. In a short time she felt his breathing slow and knew he had fallen asleep. She raised her head to look at him a bit. He seemed younger and more relaxed in his sleep and he looked truly happy. 

* * *

A short time later, Lennie woke and made love to her again and then a bit later yet again. Anita was amazed that a man Lennie's age had such recuperative powers and that he couldn't stop saying how beautiful she was and how much he loved her. After the last time they made love he "spooned" behind her with his arms wrapped around her, his left hand on her right breast and his right hand on her belly, his head on the pillow next to hers. Anita realized it was getting late and if they were to, as Lennie put it "be discreet", she needed to get home. She tried to move his hands aside without waking him but he started awake and clutched her to him. 

"Where are you going?" he asked. 

"I have to go home, Lennie, it's getting late," she answered. 

"No, please stay," Lennie requested. 

"Lennie, if we are going to 'be discreet' I can't stay here tonight. My SUV is parked down in your apartment building's parking lot," she explained as she began to get dressed, deciding to omit her stockings as just too hard to struggle into so late at night or rather early in the morning. 

"OK, I know you're right," he said reluctantly. "I'll get dressed and walk you down to the car," he began pulling on his boxers. 

"Alright, I was going to argue with you but I know you'd feel uneasy if you didn't," she agreed with him. 

They got dressed without any further discussion both quietly wishing things didn't have to be this way. 

"I'll get your gun down, " Lennie offered. 

"No leave it, I'll just put it on here tomorrow," she told him. 

"OK, are you warm enough? Here take this," he said as he placed a white shawl around her shoulders as he opened the apartment's front door. 

"And before you ask, it's my daughter Julia's. She forgot it the last time she visited and she said just to keep it for when she came back, " Lennie explained as they walked downstairs and toward the parking lot. 

"You sure she'd want her Dad's new girlfriend wearing it?" Anita asked. 

"First of all, you are not just Dad's new girlfriend, you're the love of her Dad's life. Second this is my Julia; she's the loving one. She'd give you the shawl herself for making her Dad so happy," Lennie smiled at her and kissed her, he meant it to be a gentle goodnight kiss but he couldn't help himself and the two of them got lost in each other for a few minutes. 

"OK, I have to go now," she said as she pushed out of his embrace and turned and unlocked her SUV. 

"Drive safely baby, and call me when you get home," Lennie said as he leaned in the driver's window for another kiss. He watched as she drove away and then turned to go back to his apartment and await her call. 

* * *

When Anita turned onto her street she checked the time on the clock on the dash. It was 1:05AM, she thought everyone would probably be asleep at her home, but she noticed the lights on in the living room. Of course that didn't mean anything it was almost more common for Stefan to forget to turn the lights off than to remember. She decided to take her heels off, as they'd make a lot of noise on the parquet floor in the entryway, which might wake Stefan and Don up if they were sleeping. 

Stefan decided he'd make a snack and then watch the late night movie, so he was just going from the living room to the kitchen, when he saw her sneaking in with her shoes in her hand. He laughed; he just couldn't help himself. 

"What are you laughing at? " she asked, though she had a good idea. 

"You, it just looks so funny to see my mama sneaking into the house with her shoes in her hands like I'd do if I was trying to sneak in late and not wake you up," he managed to explain over his laughter. 

"I was not sneaking in, I was trying to be quiet, hoping you were in bed by this hour and had just forgotten to turn off the lights," Anita retorted in mock consternation. 

"Ah Mom, its not that late, besides tomorrow's Saturday, I don't have to get up and go to school or anything. I was going to make myself a late night snack, you want something?" he asked. 

"OK, I wouldn't mind a bite of something, I guess," she replied as she realized she was hungry and she wanted to spend some time with her son, but promising herself that she'd be quick about it, because she wanted to go upstairs to her bedroom to call Lennie and let him know she'd made it home safely, so he wouldn't worry. 

"How about milk and apple pie, Mom?" Stefan asked. 

"That sounds good to me," she answered, then she and her son set about getting dessert plates and forks and glasses of milk out. 

"Well, you finally drag yourself home did you," Don Van Buren said to his wife in a voice dripping with scorn. 

"Didn't know I was expected at some certain hour," Anita replied trying not to rise to the baiting. 

"Well, your old boss, George Michaels, called three hours ago, seemed real shocked you weren't already home," Don added. 

Stefan sensed that things were about to get ugly between his parents and he really didn't want to be in the middle of it, but on the other hand he thought his presence might calm them. 

"Did he leave a message?" Anita asked wondering what Michaels wanted. 

"No, just a number. I put it over there by the phone," Don answered. 

Anita went to get the message. 

"What happened to your stockings and your earrings, Anita? Did you leave 'em at your boyfriend's apartment?" Don asked tauntingly. 

"Don't see how any of that's your business anymore," she answered. 

"Well, if I'm gonna have to take messages from one boyfriend while you're out banging another one, I think maybe I should know something," he said. 

"Don, do you have to act like a jerk in front of your son?" Anita asked beginning to get angry with her soon to be ex-husband. 

"Me? I'm not the one comes sneaking into the house at 1AM reeking of sex. Let me give you a little advice, Anita. Next time you go sweating up the sheets with your white detective boyfriend, take a shower afterwards," Don said with scorn. 

Stefan began slowly stalking towards his father saying, "Dad, you damn well better be drunk if you're gonna talk to my mom that way. 'Cause I swear if your sober and talking to her like that I'm gonna kick your sorry ass out of this house". 

"Stefan, stop it, it's all right," Anita told her son. 

"No, its not Mom. He's the one who's been out whoring around for years. I know cause when I found out about that last chick, I talked to Ric and he told me about a bunch of other women he knew about. And now that you and him are finally getting divorced, he's got no call saying stuff like that to you, even if it's true," Stefan argued. 

Anita felt like Stefan had slapped her with those last four words-even if it's true. 

"Do you think it's true?" she said in a shocked voice. 

Don Van Buren suddenly felt a twinge of guilt, he'd caused all this mess because he was suddenly jealous and he had no right to be. He'd given up the right to think of himself as Anita's husband a long time ago. He realized he felt jealous not because he was still in love with Anita but more because he knew that the man she'd been with was very lucky; Anita wasn't a woman who would give herself to meaningless affairs, unlike the women he'd been involved with. No, Anita would only give herself to a man she loved. She wasn't like he'd tried to suggest with the insult he'd hurled at her. 

Stefan looked at his Mom, he realized he'd really hurt her by even hinting that he thought she was capable of acting like his Dad was suggesting and yet he also knew he had some doubts. As much as he thought his Dad was being an asshole, was his Mom so naive as to not realize the way things looked? He saw the crushed look on her face and knew what he had to say whether he totally believed it or not. 

"No, Mama I don't think that. But I'm not a little boy anymore either. Dad is out of line, but he's right about your needing to be a little more discreet. You can't rub your affair in his face like this. A man has his pride," he told her. 

"Is that what I've done? Have I hurt your pride?" Anita asked Don, actually wanting to know his reasons for acting like such a jerk. 

"No, not really. I was just envious. I know you Anita. You wouldn't be with this man if you weren't in love with him. You're just not the kind to have a meaningless affair. I guess I'm just disappointed that we grew apart 'cause you're a hell of a woman. And I'm even more disappointed that I haven't been able to find someone special like you have," Don admitted. 

"Hey, can we chalk this up to it being late and that maybe the two of you shouldn't be living in the same house anymore?" Stefan suggested. "I mean none of my friends' parents continued to live in the same house after they filed for divorce," he concluded as he returned to the chore of getting pie out for everyone, his dad included. 

"Well, you might have a point, son. Maybe we need to figure out who's gonna keep the house and who's gonna move out," Don said as he grabbed a piece of pie, thinking the normal activity of the three of them eating a late night snack would return things to normal. 

"Hey, maybe you can move in with your boyfriend, Mom," Stefan suggested as he handed his mom her piece of pie. 

Before Anita could say anything, Don said, "No she can't do that". 

Anita looked at Don startled. 

"Why not?" Stefan asked. 

"Department regulations against it. Huh, 'Nita?" Don was secretly pleased to see his soon to be ex-wife so astounded and before she could answer he continued, "What's a matter? Are you surprised that I know who your lover is?" 

"Yes, very surprised," she admitted. 

"Oh, it took me a minute to figure it out, but when I thought about it, I knew. You talk about him all the time. He's the one, who makes you laugh, and he makes you the angriest too, when he screws up," Don explained. 

"Well you're right that we can't live together, we shouldn't even be together-" 

"Mom, do you love this guy?" Stefan asked. 

"Yes Stefan, I do," she answered simply. 

"Then you should be together. If the police department has some policy against you being with this guy then that's just whack, don't pay any attention to it," her son told her. 

"Well thanks for the vote of confidence," Anita said. She was beginning to feel uncomfortable standing here talking about her lover with her soon to be ex-husband and son and she knew she needed to call him soon or he'd be worried. 

"Look I'm gonna take my snack upstairs and make my phone calls. By the way, not that I owe anyone an explanation or anything but I'd join a convent before I dated George Michaels. Having to call him back is strictly business," Anita said as she took her milk and pie and George's number up stairs. 

* * *

Lennie was beginning to worry about Anita; she should have been home for a while now. He'd call but some how he was pretty sure that would push the envelope on what was 'discreet'. He decided he'd make a sandwich, for some reason he was terribly hungry. He grinned to himself at his private joke. Just as he put his empty plate and glass in the sink the phone rang. 

"Hello," he said with almost a question in his voice. 

"Hi Lennie," she said. 

"Hi baby, I was beginning to worry about you," Lennie said. He walked to the bedroom and lay down on "his' side of the bed. 

"I'm sorry, I thought when I got home everyone would be asleep but Don and Stefan were both awake and we had a little scene and then I had to call Michaels," she explained. 

"What do you mean a little scene?" Lennie asked concerned. 

"Oh, Michaels had called several hours earlier and expected I'd be home by then. Well Don's not stupid, he added things up and made some rude comments and Stefan got upset with him," she explained. 

"Oh great!" Lennie said. 

"No it's OK. It's all settled now and it's probably for the best," Anita told him. 

"Well OK, as long as your alright," Lennie said gently, deciding to let it go but making a mental note to ask for more details later. 

"I am OK but I miss you," she said. 

"I miss you too. Hey, why don't you come over tomorrow? We can spend the day together before we have to go to the pool hall?" Lennie suggested. 

"All right, I'll be there about 10, we can make brunch together." 

"OK. Say what did Michaels want?" Lennie asked. 

"He wanted to let us know that the AV technician that reads lips said that we were successful because some one said, you were just what the 'boss' wanted for his guest," Anita answered. 

"Uh, did you say one of the AV techs reads lips?" Lennie asked with a bit of concern. 

"Yeah I did," she said with a bit of emphasis. 

"Guess maybe we better be careful when we whisper things to one another tomorrow evening," Lennie said thinking about what he'd whispered to her after their first kiss. 

"Yeah, well it may be a bit late for that," she replied. 

"Yeah, well if it is, it is. I'm not gonna regret anything we've said or done," he said emphatically. "Are you?" he asked sounding unsure. 

"No, I'm not gonna second guess and I'm never gonna regret making loving to you," Anita said softly. 

"Oh, baby I love you so much. I wish you were here with me right now," he said. 

"I know, just be patient, OK? I'm gonna say goodnight now. You sleep well," she said tenderly. 

"Sweet dreams, baby," Lennie said as he hung up. 

* * *

Lennie found it hard to fall asleep. He kept thinking about Anita. Not just making love to her tonight either; he found himself thinking back to when he first met her, trying to figure out when he first fell in love with her, remembering telling himself he couldn't be in love with her because she was married and his boss, then remembering giving into the fact that whether or not he was supposed to be in love with her he was, he couldn't help it. 

He finally fell asleep about 3AM, which made it rather obnoxious when someone started knocking on his door at 8:30AM. He sat up groggily and yelled, "Just a minute," then he grabbed his slacks from the evening before and after pulling them on, he took his shirt with him trying to get it on as he went to his front door. 

"Who is it?" he yelled as he was crossing the living room. 

"It's Ed," his partner replied from the other side of the door. 

"Oh, OK," Lennie said. Still pretty much asleep, he flipped the deadbolt and slipped the chain, then let the door fall open as he turned to go to his kitchen. 

"Come on in, Ed. I'm gonna put on a pot of coffee, you want some?" Lennie asked trying to be a good host even though he was sleepy. 

"Sure. Uh, you OK partner? I mean you're usually pretty functional by this time of day. Usually you'd be showered, which by the way partner you could really use, shaved, dressed and most of the way through your second cup of coffee, and since its Saturday and you're not on call, you'd probably be doping out the racing form for a trip to the OTB," Ed observed. 

Lennie looked at Ed with an unreadable expression and then said, "Well, tell you what, you baby-sit the coffee pot while I go take that shower, and get dressed and then maybe you'll tell me why you're here." 

Ed started doing something he couldn't believe he'd ever do. He started snooping around in his partner's apartment, not that he had to look very hard. The lieutenant's earrings and stockings were in Lennie's bedroom in clear sight. Of course maybe there was an innocent explanation for those items being there. There might be an innocent explanation for the love bite on Lennie's neck too. And maybe, maybe... 

Before Ed could rouse himself from his reverie and get out of Lennie's bedroom, Lennie emerged from the bathroom with a towel wrapped round his waist. He gave Ed a cool look but didn't say anything, then went to his dresser drawer and turned his back to Ed while he went through the drawers, pulling out an A-shirt, boxers and a pair of socks. Looking at Lennie's back as Lennie reached under the towel to put his boxers on, Ed tried to decide whether there could be an innocent explanation for the scratch marks on Lennie's shoulders as well. 

"So is it that she's married or that she's your boss that turns you on?" Ed asked in an insolent voice. Lennie turned around quickly and stepped over to Ed getting into his personal space. 

"You know what Ed, because you're my partner and because you don't really know what you're talking about, I'm not gonna knock you on your ass. But I am gonna ask you to get whatever business you wanted to discuss with me over quick and then get the hell out of here. Then maybe, you and I oughta think about requesting new partners," Lennie said in a tightly controlled voice. 

"Whoa Lennie, calm down. I'm sorry if I came at this wrong. You gotta know what this looks like though. I mean I came here to warn you not to go playing with fire and it looks like you've already been burnt," Ed was shaking his head and he seemed truly upset. 

Lennie began to realize that his partner didn't really bear him any ill will but he didn't have all the facts. "Go pour a couple of cups of coffee and let me finish getting dressed," Lennie ordered the younger man in a controlled tone of voice. 

Lennie came into the kitchen wearing a long sleeve, button front blue shirt and a pair of navy pants, he sat down at the kitchen table and took one of the cups of coffee from Ed. 

"I put sugar in it for you," Ed said sounding like a kid hoping that since he'd done something right without being asked that he might get some lenience. Lennie shook his head, he couldn't believe how much like a spooked kid Ed looked right now. It touched him because he realized Ed didn't want to lose him as a partner. 

"Look, I overreacted a bit back there. I know you think you understand what's going on but you don't," Lennie stopped and looked at Ed waiting to see if the younger man would interrupt him. 

"Anita is in the process of getting a divorce. She and her husband haven't really been any more to each other but partners in parenting their sons for many years. I've been in love with her for a long time but I never did anything about it, because I learned my lesson a long time ago concerning married women," Lennie stopped and took a sip of his coffee. 

"When I learned she was getting a divorce I was happy. I wanted to find out if she had any feelings for me, but I was trying to give her time. Then we got this undercover assignment and things got pushed along a lot faster than either of us would have liked, but neither of us regrets what happened between us. And as to her being my boss, well it's only a problem because the NYPD says it is. Of course if you want to make trouble for us, I guess you can do that, but I'm hoping you won't," Lennie stopped and waited for Ed to respond. 

"So you really love her?" Ed asked. Lennie felt relieved that that was the kid's first question. 

"Yeah, Ed, I really do," Lennie said smiling shyly. 

"But I thought your two failed marriages had sort of turned you off on love and romance and all that stuff," Ed said, teasing the older man a bit. 

"Now, I've told you before, I'm not turned off of love just marriage. In fact, if Anita says something about getting married I'll probably bolt," Lennie said with a laugh. 

"You better not, I'm not letting you hurt the Lieu," Ed teased his partner and felt a great sense of relief that things were back to normal between the two of them. He'd never tell Lennie but he felt like the older man was a second father to him, one who didn't disapprove of what he was doing. If he and Lennie were ever to part on bad terms it would be devastating to him. 

"You just watch my back and she'll be fine," Lennie requested. 

"Hey Lennie, what about her being your boss, what are you gonna do about that?" Ed asked. 

"I don't know exactly. Look it's not like she and I have had a lot of time to discuss these issues. We spent a little time last night making up our mind to go ahead and be together, maybe today we can talk about exactly how we make it work. I'm thinking we'll just keep our personal lives and professional lives separate and there shouldn't be any problems," Lennie answered. 

"You gonna move in together? How you gonna keep the department from figuring out that you're living together if you do that?" Ed asked. 

"Hey, whoa, like I said we haven't had time to work through all of this. She's coming over in," Lennie checked the clock, "about an hour and maybe we'll get around to figuring it out then. Speaking of her coming over I need to go to the grocery store. She wants to cook 'brunch'," Lennie said his voice putting quotes around the last word. 

"Well, partner, you better go get those groceries then," Ed said as he got up and got ready to leave. 

"Any idea what I should buy considering the frig and the pantry are pretty bare?" Lennie asked. 

"Everything you can imagine for breakfast and lunch and some flowers," Ed advised Lennie. "Man, I can't believe I'm telling my partner how to romance the boss," he added. 

"Get out of here," Lennie said as he punched the younger man in the shoulder. 

* * *

Lennie had just finished putting away the groceries, when he heard a knock at the front door. He rushed to the door eagerly and when he opened it he found Anita with a suit bag and a small suitcase. 

"Hey," he said and gave her a little kiss. "What's all this?" he asked as he took the suit bag and suitcase from her. 

"Well, I've got what I'm gonna wear tonight in there," Anita said indicating the suit bag "and some clothes for tomorrow in here," she said indicating the small suitcase. 

"You're gonna stay tonight?" he asked obviously pleased. 

"Well unless you don't want me to?" she teased 

He put the suit bag and suitcase down and pulled Anita into his arms. 

"Let me show you how much I want you to stay," he said as he began kissing her and maneuvering them back towards the bed. 

"Lennie stop," she said with a laugh. "Let's get something to eat and then spend some time talking some things over, OK?" 

"OK, I am pretty hungry," he agreed. "And I probably will need the energy," he added with a wolfish grin 

She proceeded to the kitchen where she praised him for thinking to buy flowers, and then scolded him for not having put them in water yet. After the flowers were taken care of she made them a wonderful omelet which they ate with fresh sliced fruit and toast and scads of coffee as they discussed their situation. Lennie told her about Ed's visit and he got some more details about the scene with her soon to be ex. They talked about how they wanted their relationship to proceed and whom they would allow to know about it and what they would do if someone inadvertently found out about them. 

"What would you normally do on a Saturday?" Anita asked Lennie as they washed the dishes. 

"Well that depends, if I'm not on call and I don't have any special plans, I'd probably get the weekly chores out of the way. Clean the apartment, do the laundry, shop for groceries and then maybe go to a movie or just crash in front of the TV," he answered, then added with a laugh, "Real exciting life huh?" 

"Actually sounds fine to me, how about I help you with some of those things and then we crash in front of the TV for a while?" she asked. 

"Are you sure you want to do that?" he asked in disbelief. 

"Yep, I'm sure," she replied. 

Lennie almost laughed when he saw how efficient Anita was in getting the cleaning chores organized. He'd never gotten his apartment cleaned and the laundry done so quickly before but then he'd never had a partner to share doing them with either. Of course he'd done his best to slow things down by trying to talk her into making love instead of making the bed. When the chores were done they snuggled up in his big leather easy chair and watched classic movies. 

* * *

As Casablanca was ending he yawned, "Oh, I didn't get enough sleep last night." 

He pushed up out of the easy chair forcing Anita to stand up with him, "Come on woman, help me mess up those fresh sheets and then let me hold you while I sleep, " he said as he led her to the bedroom. 

Lennie wrapped his arms around Anita after making love to her. As he felt himself growing drowsy he thought, if things went wrong tonight at the pool hall and he didn't make it out alive, at least he'd finally been truly happy; he'd finally found a woman who loved him for who he was. He might become a better man with Anita in his life, but not a different man. 

Then a thought that chilled him to the bone entered his mind. What if something went wrong and she was killed? He wouldn't be able to handle that. He instinctively held her closer and Anita turned in his arms to look at him. 

"What's wrong, honey?" she asked. 

"Nothing, baby," Lennie tried to reassure her. 

"Don't lie to me, mister. I hate that!" Anita said. 

"OK, I just - I -I'm worried about tonight. I don't want anything to go wrong. I couldn't handle it if something happened to you," Lennie finally managed. 

"Nothing's gonna go wrong, Lennie," she told him emphatically. 

"You know how I know that?" she asked and he shook his head. 

"There are three things I know about my man. He's the best pool player, the best lover and the best cop there ever was. I know you won't let anything bad happen to me," she said with confidence. 

"As my grandmother used to say, from your lips to God's ears," Lennie said and held her close to him and drifted off to sleep. 


	4. Ch 4 Consequences and Truths

**Part 4 Consequences and Truths**  
  
Anita couldn't sleep, but she was afraid that if she tried to leave Lennie's arms she'd wake him. She knew he needed the sleep, so she rested in his arms and thought about their day together. She realized she'd sort of been playing house - cooking for him, helping him clean the apartment and do the laundry. For now it was fun, especially because he was right there with her the whole time, sharing the work, singing Broadway show tunes and hits from the 60s and 70s to her. As long as he never took it for granted that she should do those things for him, it would be okay.   
  
Anita tried to think about the future they might have together but she couldn't see past this coming evening. She was a lot more frightened than she let on. She suspected Lennie knew that and hadn't argued with her saying they'd be alright because he was trying not to feed her fears or his own. She knew the Russian mob were not as virulent as they had been before the RICO Act prosecution, but she still wished she could be sure that if things went well this evening there wouldn't be any repercussions. She sighed, there were no guarantees, especially not in a cop's life.   
  
Lennie woke and carefully stretched his arms so as not to jostle Anita.   
  
"Hey baby, what time is it?" he asked.  
  
"About 5:30, are you hungry?" she asked him.  
  
He kissed her and then sporting a wolfish grin said, "For you, always".   
  
"I meant for food," she laughed.  
  
"I could stand a sandwich," Lennie said as he put on his boxers and pants.  
  
"OK, where are my clothes?" Anita said looking around the bedroom, while clad only in her panties.  
  
"Don't ask me, I was only concerned about getting them off you, not about where they landed. Besides I prefer you this way." Lennie replied making a half-hearted grab for her, which she danced away from taking his shirt out of his hands as she did.  
  
"Fine, I'll just wear your shirt," she said with a smile.  
  
As she put on his shirt and walked toward the kitchen Lennie laughed and shook his head, "Looks better on you anyway," he commented.  
  
"How about you cut us up some fruit and get some drinks out and I'll make us some sandwiches?" she suggested.  
  
"Sounds good to me," Lennie said as he set about slicing up an apple and a pear and peeling an orange.   
  
Anita pulled out a loaf of rye bread from a breadbox on the countertop. She found some kosher dill pickles and a package of pastrami wrapped in butcher paper in the refrigerator. She took some of the meat out placing it in the microwave just long enough to get the chill of the frig off of it. She slathered deli mustard on several pieces of the rye and began constructing two pastrami sandwiches.  
  
"Hey, what are doing," yelled Lennie as Anita threw the fat she'd trimmed from the pastrami in the trash, "You're throwing out the best part of the pastrami."  
  
"No, I'm throwing out a bunch of fat that you don't need clogging your arteries," she countered.  
  
Lennie sighed, "Oh great, so now I suppose I face a future of healthy eating-fake eggs, tofu, bean sprouts-"  
  
"No, I'm not going to force a bunch of 'health food' on you. I'm just going to prepare the foods you like in healthier ways, so maybe I can have you with me for a long time, OK?" she asked tenderly.  
  
Lennie pulled her to him and kissed the top of her head, "OK, since you put it that way."  
  
After they finished their supper, Anita announced, "I'm gonna take a shower and get dressed."   
  
"We could take our showers together. We'd save water, I could scrub your back and you could scrub mine and -"  
  
"And we'd never get to the pool hall on time. No, I think I'll take my shower first and use up all the hot water so you have to take a cold shower," she teased.  
  
"Now that's just uncalled for," Lennie responded.  
  
As Anita was showering he reached in and turned the hot water off on her and she screeched, "Ooh, you're gonna pay for that mister!"  
  
"Promise?" Lennie asked with a laugh.  
  


* * *

Anita realized they were acting like kids and she was pretty sure she knew why - nerves. Tonight's undercover operations had them both spooked and this was one way to relieve some tension.  
  
Lennie showered while Anita dressed and did her hair and makeup. She was wearing a sapphire blue short-sleeved sweater with a sweetheart neckline and a black leather skirt. When Lennie came out of the shower and saw how beautiful she looked, he remembered something he'd meant to give her earlier. He hurriedly dressed in a black silk shirt and his black dress pants, and then went out to find the small jewelry box he'd brought home from his shopping trip.  
  
"Uh, I think maybe these might go with what you're wearing tonight?" Lennie said, as he offered her the jewelry box, hoping she'd like what he'd picked out.  
  
She gasped as she saw the beautiful heart shaped diamond necklace and matching earrings.  
  
"Lennie, this is beautiful. But, you shouldn't have spent so much money," she admonished him.  
  
"I didn't spend more than I won last night, besides what good is money if I can't spend it on those I love?" he asked as he took the necklace from her and placed it around her neck.  
  
"Well-"   
  
"Look it makes me happy to give the jewelry to you and to see you wear it, OK?" he cajoled.  
  
"All right," she said and turned to the task of putting the earrings on.  
  
When they were dressed he went out to the closet and brought their guns down from the lock box.  
  
"Need any help with that holster?" Lennie said trying to flirt with her some more.  
  
"No, I'm fine," she replied rather flatly unable to make herself respond to his flirtatious remark.  
  
"Hey," he said crossing to her and taking her in his arms, "remember, just like you said, things are gonna be OK. We have an ace in the hole, you know," he told her.  
  
"What's that?" she asked perplexed.  
  
"Not what, who, my partner. Ed won't let us down," Lennie said with certainty. He grabbed his leather jacket and cue case and they headed out the door.  
  
As Anita and Lennie drove across Manhattan, Pete's pool hall began to fill up with people waiting to see Lennie play. The surveillance van was overcrowded too, as George Michaels, Jack McCoy and Emil Skoda joined Ed Green and the two AV techs.  
  
"You know I'm gonna be a lot more effective if I'm inside that pool hall where I can actually see this guy," Emil said.  
  
"I'm not putting a civilian in danger," Michaels said.  
  
"There are plenty of other civilians in there," Skoda countered.  
  
"Look Michaels, neither Emil or I have to take your orders and I for one enjoy seeing Lennie play in person. Come on Emil, it's too crowded in here anyway," Jack said as he grabbed his jacket and left the van.  
  
Just as Lennie and Anita pulled up in front of the pool hall in the Lexus convertible, McCoy and Skoda walked up.  
  
"Sharp ride, man," Jack said to Lennie.  
  
Lennie stopped and talked to Jack and Emil like three guys talking about a cool car, when in actuality they were explaining that Emil wanted to be inside to be able to judge this hit man better. They proposed getting Skoda's recommendation on how to handle the guy to Lennie through Anita.   
  
"Why not talk to me directly. Say you've got a proposition to discuss with me about my pool playing skills," Lennie countered.  
  
"Hey, are we going in or not?" Anita asked, playing the part of a ticked off girlfriend to the tee.  
  
"Yeah baby, just a second," Lennie said.  
  
"Yeah baby?" Jack queried. "You're really getting into the part, aren't ya?"  
  
Lennie shrugged and then gathered Anita to him to go into the pool hall.  
  
The crowd in the pool hall greeted Lennie and Anita and it was obvious that a barstool had been saved for her and the center table for him. As he had last night, Lennie picked Anita up and put her on the barstool. Lennie asked Pete for a couple of diet cokes one with a lime twist, then he turned and said to no one in particular, "So somebody got the money to play me or am I just wasting my lady's time?"   
  
"Lennie this is Paul Black," Steve, the better player Lennie had played last night, said as he presented a tall dark haired good-looking man. "I think he might give you an interesting game and he's got a pretty good roll with him too," Steve added.  
  
Suddenly Lennie looked a bit concerned. He didn't know where his own roll of money was. Anita saw him checking his pockets and decided to ease his troubled mind.  
  
"Lennie, " Anita called out to him, when he came over to her she reached in her evening bag and pulled out a large roll of bills. "When I was sorting the laundry today, I found your roll of bills in the pants you were wearing last night, so I added them to the winnings you gave me," she told him softly.  
  
"What would I do with out you," Lennie said and gave her a kiss as he pocketed the bills.  
  
"Hopefully you'll never have to find out," she said as he turned to head back to the pool table. He looked back and flashed her his most charming smile.  
  
Lennie found that Paul Black was a better player than Steve had been but he still had no problem winning an 8ball match from him, pocketing $4500. He had developed a habit; he'd win a game and go collect a kiss from Anita while Paul racked the balls for the next game. His behavior didn't really draw anyone's attention, except Jack McCoy and Emil Skoda, who were debating whether their friends should move their act to Broadway or if it wasn't an act.  
  
As Paul was talking to Lennie about the possibility of a 9ball match, which Lennie wasn't too keen on, three men entered the pool hall. Had the two larger men not been with him, the smaller man of the trio could have escaped notice. He was a very average fellow. About 5'9" and 155lbs with medium brown hair and brown eyes and fair complexion. There was absolutely nothing about him that stood out, his features were even and he had no scars or tattoos. That's what obviously made him the hit man. He could easily blend into a crowd and even a good description of him wouldn't do a cop much good. The way the two larger men interacted with him also told quite a story. They obviously respected him, perhaps even feared him and took suggestions from him as orders.   
  
"Is it true that there is a certain pool shark here looking for some competition?" the newcomer asked in the sort of perfect English that suggested someone who had been raised in an upper class European family.  
  
"Well, I don't know that I'd exactly call myself a pool shark but I have been looking for someone who could give me a run for my money," Lennie answered. "Lennie Briscoe and you would be?"  
  
"Jurgen Schmidt," the 'hit man' answered. "Would you care for a few games of 8 ball at say $100 a ball?" Schmidt looked at Lennie totally ignoring Paul Black.  
  
"Uh, Paul you mind, if I play this guy?" Lennie asked.  
  
"No Lennie, go ahead, I may as well let someone else line your pockets," his most recent opponent said.  
  
Lennie noticed how the two "bodyguards" took up positions at opposite ends of the pool hall, effectively covering the entrance and the exit. The one near the entrance put a satchel down next to him. But what Lennie noticed most was the way Schmidt looked at Anita. His undisguised appraisal of her made Lennie's blood pressure spike and when he looked at Anita he could swear she was shivering.  
  
"Well then, I guess we play, Jurgen is it?" Lennie asked.  
  
"Yes Lennie, shall we lag for the break?" Schmidt asked in an overly courteous way.  
  
Lennie purposely lost the lag, so Jurgen could break and he'd have a chance to check on Anita.  
  
"You OK, Anita?" he asked her, very concerned.  
  
"Yes, there was just something about the way he looked at me that was very disconcerting," she answered sounding a bit shaky.  
  
"Yeah, I know I wanted to take my stick up aside his head when I saw how he was looking at you," Lennie told her and then he kissed her softly. "I won't let him hurt you baby," Lennie promised.   
  
"Your up Lennie," someone yelled.  
  
Lennie looked over the table, Jurgen had done fairly well, he'd taken solids and only had two balls left to sink. He'd also left Lennie pretty badly hooked. Lennie surveyed the table from several different angles and finally settled on a masse shot that allowed him to sink the 14 ball, he then proceeded to run the table yet again. Lennie couldn't believe how hot he'd been these last few evenings. Lennie offered that Jurgen could break for the next game.  
  
During the game McCoy and Skoda discussed the hit man and they also discussed Lennie and Anita.  
  
"I don't know Jack, if Lennie really cares about her, and I think he does, then this gets more complicated. He may react instinctively to the situation rather than with a cool clear head. And this guy, Jack, needs to be handled by some one who is definitely cool headed and in control of his emotions," Emil declared.  
  
"What, have you already got this guy figured out?" Jack said a bit incredulous.  
  
"Not entirely but I've seen some clues. He's very self-confident and there's something about him. Look at how those Russian bodyguards obey him, almost as though they are afraid of him. Plus there's the way he looked at Anita, like she was prey he would hunt down and enjoy devouring. I could see her literally shiver when Schmidt looked at her and she's not a woman who is easily frightened, yet she senses something about him that is dangerous," Skoda concluded.  
  
"Should we call Lennie over now to talk to him?" McCoy asked.  
  
"No, let's give it a few more games, lets see how Jurgen likes constantly being beaten by Lennie," Skoda said.  
  
On the third game Schmidt got lucky and ran out from the break, so this time it was Lennie's turn to rack and break. While he did so Jurgen went over to the bar for a drink, at least that was his cover but actually he went over to torment Anita. He knew she was frightened of him. All his chosen victims were. He loved to build the fear in them. This one would be a bit different, he could tell because she resisted showing her fear. He liked that in a victim, it was so much sweeter when that kind gave into the terror.  
  
"Hello, lovely lady. Did I hear Lennie call you Anita?" Jurgen asked in a sticky sweet voice.  
  
"I suppose you might have, as that's my name," Anita replied coolly.  
  
"So tell me, are you and Lennie permanently attached or is yours more of an open arrangement?" Jurgen asked as he stroked her arm.  
  
Lennie had taken the break and was lining up his first shot when he saw Schmidt touch Anita's arm. He immediately strode quickly away from the table, cue stick in hand, toward Schmidt.  
  
"It's quite permanent and I'll thank you to keep your hands to yourself Mr. Schmidt," Anita told him firmly.  
  
"And she better not have to tell you twice or our friendly little game of pool won't be so very friendly," Lennie said, reversing his cue in his hand so he now wielded the butt end like a club.  
  
"Now, now dear Lennie, let's not get violent over a simple misunderstanding. I'd simply forgotten how possessive you Americans can be," Schmidt responded in his most obsequious manner.  
  
"I'm not being possessive, that would imply that Anita is my property and she most definitely is not. The only person Anita belongs to is herself. She's with me because she chooses to be, I'm just defending her choice," Lennie corrected Schmidt.   
  
"I stand corrected. Please forgive me," Schmidt said somehow managing to sound courteous without sounding apologetic.  
  
"Two points for Lennie," Jack said to Emil.  
  
"Not really," Skoda countered as Lennie and Schmidt agreed to get back to the game.  
  
"What do you mean? Don't you agree with his viewpoint?" McCoy asked in a tone that said he challenged Skoda to be so politically incorrect.  
  
"I agree with his viewpoint about women not being possessions, but I certainly don't share his motivation," Emil countered.  
  
"His motivation?" Jack asked.  
  
"Remember I said I thought Lennie really did have feelings for Anita?" Skoda asked and McCoy nodded.  
  
"Well, I'm now sure he does," Emil explained.  
  
"What makes you say that?" Jack asked.  
  
"If he didn't, if he were just acting, his response to Schmidt's 'move' on Anita wouldn't have been so swift or so intense. He'd have needed a moment to think about how he should react, rather than just reacting," Emil answered.  
  
"And you're sure that could cause problems?" Jack asked.  
  
"Yeah, although Lennie seemed to rein himself in pretty quickly this time, if he really looses his cool with this guy the next time he provokes Lennie, and there will be a next time, loosing his cool could be the last mistake Lennie makes," Skoda concluded.  
  
"So you got a pretty good read on this guy then?" Jack asked.  
  
"Yeah, and I probably better clue Lennie in before he causes himself some real trouble," Skoda replied. He then stood up and moved toward the table at which Lennie and Schmidt were playing. Jack followed him.  
  
They hovered near the table and after Lennie called and sank the eight ball, Skoda said to Lennie, "Could we talk with you?"  
  
"My partner and I have a business proposition for you," Jack added.  
  
Lennie turned to Schmidt, "Do you mind Jurgen?"  
  
"No, please go ahead I'll take a little break," Schmidt said.  
  


* * *

Before moving off to a distant table with McCoy and Skoda, Lennie looked to make sure Schmidt wasn't bothering Anita again. When he saw Schmidt talking to Pete, the pool hall owner, he relaxed a bit and joined McCoy and Skoda.  
  
"So gentleman, what do you have to tell me? " Lennie asked.  
  
"You can't help yourself, can you?" Emil asked Lennie.  
  
"What do you mean?" Lennie asked.  
  
"You had to check to make sure Schmidt wasn't bothering Anita, didn't you?" Skoda asked.  
  
"Something wrong with that?" Lennie asked defensively.  
  
"Not if it's just a check on your partner in this operation, but its not is it?"  
  
"What are trying to say, Skoda?" Lennie asked a bit ticked off.  
  
"Well, this guy Schmidt is dangerous enough, without the added distraction of what seems to be going on between you and Van Buren," Skoda said.  
  
"How dangerous?" Lennie asked, trying to gloss over what Skoda was hinting at.  
  
"Let's just say that Anita is not the only person in this room he sees as an object. In fact you might be the only person in this room that he sees as anything other than background noise and scenery," Skoda said by way of explanation.  
  
"So what's your recommendation for handling him?" Lennie asked, his attitude still reflecting an annoyance with Skoda.  
  
"Handle him carefully, but firmly. Make sure you're thinking, not just reacting. One misstep with this guy could be your last. Remember he makes his living killing people and he probably enjoys his work," Skoda replied.  
  
"You think he's gonna press for me to use Anita as a table stake?" Lennie asked the question that was pressing on his mind.  
  
"Yes, you'll know for sure if he tries to clear the pool hall out or get you to go with him somewhere for a private game," Emil answered.  
  
"And what do I say or do in that case?" Lennie asked.  
  
"Well, with your little lecture on Anita not being your property, he should expect you to resist the suggestion, so do that. He will then probably push very hard, maybe hard enough to arrest him just based on that, although from what Michaels says he wants something on this guy that will really stick," Skoda commented.  
  
"Yeah well I don't give a rat's ass what that moron Michaels wants. Freaking idiot wanted me to lose Anita to this psycho so she'd be on the inside," Lennie said, obviously still upset about it.  
  
At Skoda's skeptical look Jack nodded, "Wow, this isn't a professional opinion, but Michaels may be short a few bricks," Emil declared.  
  
"Well, I better get back to the pool table," Lennie said, but as he started to leave McCoy put a hand on his arm to stop him.  
  
"Lennie, I may be stepping over the line here, but don't you think you've had your heart broken often enough in your life without going after your married supervisor?" Jack asked.  
  
"You're right on a couple of things Jack, you are over the line and I've had my heart broken quite a few times, but you're also wrong, Anita's in the process of getting divorced and for the first time in my life, my heart's being mended," Lennie told Jack and then walked away.  
  
"Boy you're right. He's got it bad," Jack said with a small laugh.  
  
"Yeah, well at least he made it sound like it's a two way street," Emil added and Jack nodded.  
  
Lennie's mood hadn't been improved any by his conversation with Jack and Skoda, but he channeled his anger into his game, running the table even faster than he normally did. He took his normal break between games and headed for Anita.  
  
"What did Jack and Skoda have to say?" Anita asked.  
  
"About what you'd expect, Schmidt is a dangerous guy with little regard for human life. Skoda expects him to propose a private game and soon. He also thinks our relationship might make things more difficult. He's worried I'll react first and think later," Lennie said as he took a sip of her drink.  
  
"Is he right?" Anita asked.  
  
"No, baby, he's not. If I don't think before I act, I might put you in danger and I won't do that," Lennie said then kissed her and turned to go back to the table.  
  
At the end of the match Schmidt handed him $6000 and then looked back at Pete.  
  
"Ladies and Gentlemen, I have agreed to close the hall a little early to allow our friend Lennie to play a private game with Mr. Schmidt. I must ask you all to leave now, but please come back Monday evening for more fun," Pete announced.  
  
Amidst a lot of grousing the crowd inside of Pete's slowly dispersed. Skoda stopped for a moment and told Lennie to remember what he'd said. Eventually there were only 6 people in the pool hall, Pete, the pool hall owner, Lennie and Anita and Schmidt and his bodyguards.  
  
"Shall we increase the wager a bit, Lennie?" Schmidt asked.  
  
"Why would you want to do that? You haven't managed to win more than one game the whole night. Have you been holding back Jurgen, trying to hustle me?" Lennie asked suspiciously.  
  
"Perhaps I have. Do you feel lucky?" Schmidt said trying to goad Lennie.  
  
"Luck has little to do with my game. What stakes are you interested in?" Lennie asked  
  
"How about $5000 a ball, first one to five games wins the match," Schmidt proposed.  
  
Lennie quickly did the math in his head, the take could be between $25,000 and $200,000 depending on whether the match was close or the winner managed to run the table on each game.  
  
"I can't cover that large a bet," Lennie said.  
  
"Oh, but of course you can, you have something you can use as collateral," Schmidt said in his oily voice.  
  
Lennie tensed a bit knowing what Schmidt was going to suggest.  
  
"What's that?" Lennie said as though he didn't have any idea.  
  
"Why your lovely lady Anita, she's easily worth a couple hundred thousand," Schmidt said.  
  
"I guess you didn't understand me earlier, she's not my property. She's not an object to be used as collateral," Lennie said trying to hold back his feelings.  
  
"Oh that's right you said she belongs to herself and makes her own choices. So let's ask her," Schmidt proposed then turned to Anita.  
  
"Anita darling, would you consent to be Lennie's collateral for this next match or," he paused and walked over to the satchel the bodyguard had set down earlier and quickly removed a hand gun and then spun back around leveling the gun at Lennie, "should I just shoot him and Mr. Artemis, " Schmidt motioned toward the pool hall owner who was standing behind the bar. Pete looked frightened and the bodyguards shifted enough to let him know they were armed and didn't want him to move.  
  
"No! Don't shoot them," Anita said quickly then she drew closer to the table Lennie and Schmidt had been using. She turned to Lennie, "It's OK, I know you'll win," she tried to say confidently.  
  
In the surveillance van an argument broke out about whether to send in uniformed back up or wait.  
  
"Wait for what?' Wait for him to make good his threat and blow Lennie away?" Ed yelled at Michaels.  
  
"Wait for this guy to admit to something. Right now all we've got him for is felony menacing, we need something we can use for leverage, so he rolls on the people who hired him," Michaels said.  
  
Ed moved nearer the door of the van and kept his eyes on the screen showing what was going on in the pool hall.  
  
Schmidt took stacks of bills out of the satchel and placed them on a nearby table then put his gun on top of the bills.  
  
"I'll even let you break first, Lennie," Schmidt said.  
  
Lennie sighed and then nodded. As he racked the balls he decided to try and get Schmidt to talk. "I can't figure it out Schmidt, why do you want to do this so badly?" Lennie asked.  
  
"I doubt you could understand, my friend. But I have a little job to do tomorrow and it would so help me to spend the evening with this lovely lady prior to the job," Schmidt asked.  
  
Lennie broke and proceeded to run the table as he seemed to always be able to do this weekend.  
  
"Why Anita? Why not another woman?" Lennie asked.  
  
"Because another woman doesn't belong to you," Schmidt answered as he racked up the balls for his turn to break.  
  
Schmidt was doing fairly well in the second game and then Anita began moving nervously around the table. Her movement annoyed Schmidt and he walked over to the table where his gun lay.   
  
"Anita darling, if you don't stay still I might have to punish Mr. Artemis for what you're doing, " Schmidt said and toyed with his gun.  
  
"I'm sorry, I didn't realize I was doing anything wrong," she replied frightened of what Schmidt might do.  
  
"Of course you didn't darling. I should of known it was inadvertent. You wouldn't try to give Lennie an unfair advantage, would you?" Schmidt said to her.  
  
The match continued, as did the argument in the surveillance van. Although Schmidt's game was markedly improved he still lost to Lennie.   
  
"Well, that's match," Lennie said as he sunk the eight ball in the pocket he had called.  
  
"Yes it is," Schmidt said as he went to the table that held the stack of money and his gun.  
  
"But I'm afraid I'm going to have to renege a bit on the bet. You can take the money, but I really need Anita," Schmidt said as he leveled his gun at Lennie's midsection.  
  
When Ed Green saw Schmidt aim his gun at his partner, he decided he didn't care whether Michaels thought he had enough on Schmidt or not, his partner needed him to cover his back.  
  
"Careful Mr. Artemis, I'd hate to have to shoot you, it would be such a waste of ammunition," Schmidt said as he noticed the pool hall owner moving behind the bar. The man froze where he was.  
  
Lennie saw Ed Green coming down the street out of the corner of his eye and knew that the conclusion of this little drama was only moments away and he needed to think clearly and quickly about the right thing to do.  
  
"You can keep your money but Anita's not going anywhere with you," Lennie told Schmidt coolly and took what he hoped looked like a protective step backwards to bring him to Anita's side.  
  
"You're a remarkable man, Lennie Briscoe. A master pool player and a man with the courage to defy a man holding a gun on him," Schmidt said.  
  
Just then Ed Green threw open the front door of the pool hall and shouted "Police, freeze!"  
  
Schmidt and his bodyguards all turned towards Ed, but Schmidt was the only one who already had his gun out, he fired at Ed hitting him in the left shoulder. While Schmidt and the bodyguards were momentarily distracted, Lennie reached for the nearest gun he knew of, the one Anita had in her thigh holster, withdrawing the gun and at the same time pushing Anita down out of the line of fire. Ed took cover behind a table just in time to avoid Schmidt's second shot and although wounded, Ed simulataneously returned fire on the bodyguard who was behind Lennie, while Lennie plugged the one near the door. Ed then slumped to the floor. Lennie turned his weapon on Schmidt as Schmidt turned on Lennie.  
  
"Mexican standoff," Schmidt said.  
  
"Not really," Anita said from her position on the floor. While the men had been exchanging fire she had reached for the nearest gun available to her, the one in Lennie's ankle holster. She had crawled under the pool table to end up just a few feet from Schmidt holding Lennie's .38 in both hands and aiming it at Schmidt's crotch.  
  
"Unless you've always had a burning desire to become a eunuch, I'd put the gun down," Anita advised Schmidt. He quickly complied.  
  
Lennie moved around the pool table and looked down at Anita. He felt incredibly proud of her.  
  
"Put your hands on your head," Lennie ordered Schmidt.  
  
Uniformed officers finally came through both the front and back doors of the pool hall and began assessing the situation.  
  
"About time back up got here," Lennie said. He decided to let the backups cuff and Mirandize Schmidt so he wouldn't get caught up in paperwork. He moved to the front of the pool hall to check on Ed.  
  
"Here, " Lennie said as he handed Anita's 38 to a passing officer, "they'll want this, I used it to dispatch that one," he said as he pointed to the dead bodyguard near the front door.  
  
"Where's EMS," Lennie yelled as he knelt beside his partner Ed Green.  
  
"They're on their way, " one of the uniformed officer's assured Lennie.  
  
"Hey partner, how you doing?" Lennie asked as he tried to inspect Ed's wound.  
  
"I'd like to lie to you and say I'm fine but it hurts like a bitch," Ed admitted weakly.  
  
Lennie lifted Ed slightly to see if the bullet had gone through his shoulder, it had. Ed groaned and Lennie settled him back down.  
  
"Pete give me a couple of clean bar towels," Lennie requested.  
  
Pete quickly brought Lennie two clean towels and Lennie placed one under Ed's back at the exit wound and the other over the entrance wound on his shoulder. He applied pressure to try to get the wound to stop bleeding and Ed groaned.  
  
Lennie thought he'd better talk to Ed to keep his mind off the pain.  
  
"Not that I'm complaining mind you, but what's with the bad Tonto imitation?" Lennie asked his wounded partner.  
  
"Tonto?" Ed asked bewildered.  
  
"Yeah, you know, the Lone Ranger would always get in trouble and Tonto would come along and bail him out, except Tonto usually brought the local sheriff or somebody to help out" Lennie said.   
  
"Yeah well, the local sheriff wasn't George Michaels," Ed said weakly.  
  
Blood was soaking through the bar towel and Lennie was growing very concerned for his partner.  
  
"Where the hell is the EMS?" Lennie growled.  
  
"Right here, sir," an ambulance attendant said as he maneuvered a stretcher into the space near Ed.   
  
"He's bleeding pretty badly," Lennie told the EMS tech.  
  
"We'll take good care of him, sir. If you'll just give us some room to work on him," the tech said gently and Lennie rose, relinquishing his position next to Ed to the ambulance crew.  
  
As he stood and looked around the pool hall he saw Michaels talking to Anita and strode over to them, his anger just barely in check.  
  
"Ah Detective Briscoe I'd like to have-"  
  
"I don't give a damn what you'd like. Here," Lennie said as he reached out and took Michaels hands, smearing the blood that had seeped through the bar towels from Ed's shoulder wound onto his hands over Michaels' hands, "I think it's only appropriate you have Ed Green's blood on your hands since it was your half-assed decision that got him shot."  
  
Lennie walked away from a shocked Michaels to go wash his hands of Ed's blood.  
  
Michaels looked at Lennie's back and then turned to look at Anita expectantly.  
  
"Don't look at me to apologize for him. I happen to agree with him," Anita said as she moved away from Michaels.   
  
Alfie Kiefer was helping out the CSI tech that was bagging evidence, when they came across the stack of money on the pool table, "Don't bag that," Alfie said suddenly.  
  
"Why not," the tech asked.  
  
"That belongs to Lennie," Alfie answered.  
  
"Huh?" the tech responded.  
  
"Jack McCoy told him he wouldn't be prosecuted for gambling while on this undercover operation and that anything he won was his, I heard him talking about it with the shrink. Lennie won that money, it's his," Alfie said emphatically.  
  
"That's right. I'll take it for him," Anita said taking an unmarked evidence bag and shoving the money in it.  
  
Just then Lennie came up, his hands now clean and said to Anita, "Let's go to the hospital and find out how Ed is."  
  
"OK, I think that's a good idea. Oh and here's your gun," Anita responded as she handed Lennie his .38. Lennie squatted down and tucked it back in the ankle holster.  
  
"Lennie, don't forget your stick," Pete said as he handed him his case.  
  
"Thanks Pete, wouldn't want to forget this," Lennie said.  
  
"You come back anytime Lennie. Table's always free for you," Pete told him.  
  
Lennie nodded and maneuvered Anita out of the pool hall through the throng of police officers and curious bystanders to the Lexus. They headed off towards the nearest Emergency Room to find out how Ed was.  
  


* * *

Lennie looked over and saw the bag in Anita's lap. "What's that?"  
  
"Your winnings from the last match," she answered.  
  
"Uh, I don't think that's really mine," he said a bit shocked.  
  
"Jack McCoy said you could keep anything you won," she said.  
  
"He was joking," Lennie said, although a small voice inside him was saying, 'I won Anita in that last match. Does that mean I get to keep her?'  
  
"Doesn't matter if he was, he said it and there were plenty of witnesses," Anita said.  
  
Just then they arrived at the ER and she put the money in the glove compartment.  
  


* * *

Lennie asked at the desk about Ed. Initially they balked at telling him anything until he fished his badge out of his pocket. They told him Ed was in surgery to repair blood vessels that had been damaged by the passage of the bullet. Then they asked him if he knew whom to contact in Ed's family. Lennie asked for Ed's cell phone, which was among his clothes. He looked through it and found Ed's sister's number and called her. He left it up to her as to whether to call Ed's father or not. Finally a doctor came out and told them Ed would be fine but that he wouldn't be up to visitors until tomorrow morning.  
  
Lennie looked over and noticed that Anita looked exhausted. So he went over to her and said, "Let's go home".   
  
She smiled at him and answered, "If that means your apartment, OK".  
  
Lennie gently kissed Anita and then they put their arms around each other's waists as they walked to the car. They didn't see Ana Cordova and her partner Mark Johnson, who had decided to stop by the hospital at the end of their shift to see how Ed Green was, but they saw Lennie and Anita.   
  


* * *

"Mark, we didn't see a thing, OK?" Ana Cordova implored her partner. "But-"  
  
"No, we didn't see them like that Mark. If we say anything then they get in trouble," she said trying to convince her partner.  
  
"Yeah well, they are breaking departmental policy, at least they are if what we saw means what I think it means," Mark argued.  
  
"Look, first we don't know for sure if what we saw means what we think it does. Second they both looked happy. Why let stupid departmental policies screw that up?" Ana asked.  
  
"Well, as long as nobody asks me about them, I won't tell anybody what I saw, OK?" Mark proposed and Ana nodded then went to the nurses station to ask about Ed.  
  


* * *

When Lennie and Anita arrived at his apartment, Lennie went through his normal routine of taking off his gun and then realized he'd effectively lost Anita's gun for her for a time. Before he could say anything about that she handed him the bag of money and he heaved a sigh and added it to the lock box.  
  
"I'm still not sure it was a good idea to take that money," Lennie said.  
  
"Just be sure you report it as income and pay the taxes on it," she said to him with a smile.   
  
"I'm going to take a shower," she said.  
  
He wonder for a moment why she'd want another shower so soon and then he saw her unconsciously rub at her arm where Schmidt had touched her and he understood, she needed to shower to cleanse herself of that scum's touch.  
  
"OK baby, looks like I've got some phone messages to listen to anyway," Lennie told her.  
  
Anita heard the beginning of the first message as she undressed and set the shower temperature. She could almost imagine the smile on Lennie's face. The message was from Lennie's daughter Julia, she was hoping to set up a time to bring Lennie's grandson to visit. She didn't hear the next two messages, a long scathing one from Michaels telling Lennie he expected a report first thing Monday and was definitely filing a report about his behavior and a call from an officer with Internal Affairs requesting Lennie call immediately.   
  
Anita stepped out of the shower to hear Lennie's side of a phone conversation.  
  
"Yeah, this is Briscoe. I'm returning your call," he said then listened to what the person on the other side of the conversation said.  
  
"Yes, I know but my partner was wounded and I wanted to check on him, and then I was just so exhausted I decided to go home," he answered.  
  
"You've got the gun I used and a videotape of the incident what more do you need?" he asked sounding a bit exasperated.  
  
"OK, how about first thing tomorrow morning?" Lennie suggested.  
  
"Seven? On a Sunday?" he said a bit shocked.  
  
"OK, OK Seven AM at One Police Plaza," Lennie reluctantly agreed.  
  
"Sounds like you've got an early appointment for a grilling by IAB," Anita said as she came out of the bedroom wearing his robe and toweling her hair dry.  
  
"Yeah, just a routine Officer Involved Shooting Investigation, unless they've already gotten Michaels' complaint," Lennie told her.  
  
"Michaels' complaint?" she asked as she tossed the towel she'd used on her hair back toward the bathroom.  
  
"Yeah, he called too, to tell me to get a report in to him first thing Monday and to inform me he'd made a formal complaint about my behavior tonight," Lennie said, obviously miffed at the guy.  
  
Anita sighed, and placed a hand on Lennie's chest. "Let's just forget about it tonight and try to get some sleep," she suggested.  
  
"Yeah, that sounds good," Lennie said and began to lead her to the bedroom.  
  
She began to unbutton his shirt, running her hands over his chest and placing small kisses on his skin as it was exposed. He caught her wrists in his hands to stop her.  
  
"You keep that up and we won't be sleeping," he said with a grin.  
  
"You'll sleep better afterward," she said with a saucy grin and pulled him towards the bed.  
  
Lennie was a bit surprised with himself, he wasn't a young man anymore and he was tired, but Anita's mere presence inspired him. He made love to her slowly and tenderly and then cradled her in his arms to sleep. But Anita had other things on her mind than sleeping. She started musing about all sorts of things they should consider in their relationship. When should they tell Ric and Julia about their relationship? Where should they live? How should they handle things at work?  
  
"Baby, I gotta be up in about 5 hours and I'm not exactly at my best right now. Can we talk about all these important things tomorrow?" Lennie asked.  
  
"Of course, I'm sorry," she said and kissed him, snuggling down into his shoulder to sleep. He kissed the top of her head, sighed and settled down to rest.  
  



	5. Ch5 No Good Deed

**CH 5 No Good Deed**

Lennie woke and looked at the alarm clock on the bedside table. It was a little before six. He needed to get up if he was going to make it to One Police Plaza on time. He just had one problem; Anita was sleeping on his shoulder. Funny whenever any of his other lovers had tried that he'd always ended up with his arm falling to sleep and so he'd end up with those damn pins and needles. But Anita fit perfectly there without bothering him at all. He tried to gently slip his shoulder out from under her without waking her, to no avail. 

"Oh, what time is it, honey?" she asked as she woke. 

"About six, go back to sleep, you don't have to get up with me," Lennie told her as he headed toward the shower. 

"No it's OK. I'll make breakfast while you shower. How would you like your eggs?" she asked. 

Lennie thought about how he truly wanted them, over easy, and how would be easiest for her to make them, and called out, "Scrambled," just as he stepped into the shower. 

* * *

Lennie walked into the kitchen wearing a blue shirt and a pair of jeans, as he entered the kitchen he smelled hot coffee, eggs and toast. Anita set a plate of eggs over easy in front of him with a couple of pieces of toast. There was a cup of coffee and a glass of juice already there with the silverware. 

"But I thought I said scrambled eggs," Lennie said with some confusion. 

"Did you really want scrambled eggs?" she asked hoping she hadn't made a mistake. 

"No, but I always figure eggs over easy are pretty hard to cook, and I didn't want to make you work so hard this early in the morning," Lennie said. 

"I don't find cooking eggs the way you like them to be hard work, OK?" Anita said as she sat down with her own breakfast. 

Each of them was touched by the other's intentions and actions. Anita thought about how Don never considered whether something might be hard for her to do. In Lennie's position he'd have expected her to get up and make his breakfast instead of trying to let her sleep in. Lennie thought about all the times he'd settled for things being done in a way he didn't want rather than be bitched at by one of his ex-wives about how demanding he was being. 

"So what are you going to do while I go 'entertain' the folks from Internal Affairs?" Lennie asked as he buttered his toast. 

"Well, I thought I'd go over and talk to Don. There are some details about our divorce that we should iron out that will speed the process up, and well for some reason I'd really like to do that now," she said with a grin. He smiled at her and reached out to hold her hand. 

"Then I'll see if I can talk Stefan into going to church with me. How long do you think you'll be hung up at One Police Plaza?" she asked. 

"I don't know, I can't imagine it taking that long, maybe an hour or so," he answered. 

"Want to join me and Stefan for church?" she asked hopefully. 

"Uh, Church?" Lennie said, an alarm going off somewhere in the back of his head. 

"Is this gonna be one of those things we have a major difference on?" she asked cautiously. 

"Not necessarily, I'm just not sure my going to church with you and your son is the right thing to do right now. I'm not ruling out doing it in the future, OK?" Lennie said hoping she'd interpret his objection in the most favorable way. He wasn't an atheist or even an agnostic but he wasn't big on organized religion. 

"OK, look I want to go see Ed today, see how he's doing. How about we meet at the hospital?" she proposed. 

"Good idea," Lennie said, as he got ready to leave, grabbing up his old brown bomber jacket from the closet. 

"Lennie, please take your cell phone so I can get in touch with you, OK?" Anita requested. 

"Oh all right, come here and give me a kiss," he ordered gently. 

After a long and sensuous kiss Lennie said, "God, I wish I didn't have to leave," he turned and picked up his cell phone and stuck it in his jacket. He put his hand on the doorknob to leave then turned back and kissed Anita again, once more lingering over the kiss. 

"I wish we could catch a break," he said with a sigh, and then quickly left before he could allow himself to be pulled back to her by his own desire. 

* * *

When Lennie arrived at the "conference room" that had been designated for his "chat" with the IAB officers, he thought it looked a lot like an interrogation room except it lacked an observation window. He was surprised to see Phil Cerreta, the detective he'd replaced at the 2-7, in the room, along with two IAB officers. The officers introduced themselves as Bobby Garcia and Nicole Miller. Bobby Garcia was a handsome Latino who looked to be in his mid forties and Nicole Miller was an auburn haired blue-eyed beauty who looked to be in her late thirties. 

"Phil, what are you doing here?" Lennie asked. 

"It was my turn to be on call as PBA rep. You got someone in mind you'd rather have here as your council?" Phil asked. 

"No, Phil, I can't think of anyone else who would be better than you," Lennie answered. 

"You two mind if I talk to Lennie alone for a few minutes?" Phil asked the IAB officers. 

"No, go ahead I'm sure Miller and I can think of something to do," Garcia answered with a smile. 

Once the IAB officers left the room Phil turned to Lennie. "So you want to tell me your version of things before they come back in and put their spin on things?" 

"Yeah sure, "Lennie said, and then launched into a summary of the undercover operation ending with the shooting and the incident with Michaels. 

"OK, what are you leaving out Lennie? And don't bullshit me, 'cause I've had too many years of interrogation not to know when a guy's trying to be sparing with the truth," Phil told him, a little ticked that Lennie was trying to avoid telling him the whole truth. 

Lennie didn't answer right away. He looked down at his hands and nervously ran them over his pants legs. Lennie thought about giving Phil a false lead by talking about the money he'd taken home from the pool hall, but he knew deep down inside that he needed to be honest with him. 

"What I tell you, you keep to yourself?" Lennie asked seeking reassurance from Phil. 

"Of course Lennie, that goes without saying," Phil promised. 

"Just before this operation began I learned that Anita was getting a divorce," Lennie began. 

"And that was welcome news to you?" Phil asked beginning to get the picture. 

"Yeah, " Lennie answered with a sigh. 

"I've been in love with her for a long time, but I always kept that to myself 'cause I thought she was happily married. And I'd finally learned my lesson about married women. Anyway, we had dinner, just so I could give her a shoulder to cry on so to speak, you know?" Lennie looked at Phil to see if he understood what he was trying to say, Phil nodded, so he continued. "I found out she hadn't been happy for years, but had stuck it out for her boys. During that dinner I started to get it that the feelings didn't just go one way. I let her know how I felt but left the ball in her court. Then this damn undercover operation comes up and we're suppose to 'pretend' to be boyfriend-girlfriend," Lennie said the last sentence with a tinge of annoyance in his voice. 

"And one thing led to another?" Phil asked. 

"Yeah," Lennie admitted seeming a bit embarrassed. 

"So is this something you two are gonna get out of your systems pretty soon or is it gonna go the distance?" Phil asked. 

"This is the real deal, Phil. If I have to, I'll give up my career to be with her," Lennie answered decisively. Phil looked into the other man's eyes and saw that Lennie truly meant what he said and that impressed him. 

"Anybody know about you two? I mean really know, not just suspect," Phil asked. 

"As far as I know just my partner Ed and Anita's husband and son, " Lennie answered. 

"You think her husband's gonna make trouble?" Phil asked. 

"I don't think so, Anita says they haven't really been husband and wife for something like six years and he's had a number of girlfriends in that time," Lennie answered. 

"Do you think there's a chance that these IAB characters want to talk to you about this?" Phil asked him. 

"I don't know," Lennie responded. 

"But you've got your doubts, don't you Lennie. Why? You and Anita been indiscreet?" Phil asked. 

"No, not exactly. Look you know this whole undercover operation was on videotape, right?" Lennie asked and Phil nodded. 

"Well, apparently one of the techs can read lips. I didn't know that until Saturday morning when Ed dropped by my apartment," Lennie answered. 

"So this tech might have read your lips while you were whispering sweet nothings in Anita's ear?" Phil asked. 

"Yeah, something like that," Lennie answered, just then the door opened and Garcia and Miller entered. 

"So we give you guys enough time to talk?" Garcia asked as he and his partner took seats. 

"Almost," Lennie said ruefully. He wished he'd had enough time to ask Phil how he should proceed if they asked him questions that could lead to his relationship with Anita. 

Nicole Miller placed a tape recorder on the table between them and informed Lennie that they'd be taping the interview. 

"Well, as you said in the phone conversation, with the videotape of the shooting it was pretty easy to see that it was a righteous shoot. You really had no choice but to do what you did, but my partner and I do have a few questions for you. Just to clarify a couple of things," Garcia said and Lennie nodded. 

"First, why didn't you use your own gun?" he asked. 

"Well, the only place I could conceal a gun was in an ankle holster," Lennie began explaining. 

"Why's that?" Garcia asked. 

"You ever try to play a game of 8 ball wearing a shoulder holster and jacket or with a gun tucked somewhere in your pants?" Lennie challenged. 

"Uh no, but considering what I saw on the tape, I might try playing with an ankle holster from now on. Man, you were brilliant," Garcia gushed. 

"Can we get back to the question?" Miller prompted, annoyed at her partner's tribute to Lennie's pool playing skills. 

"Yeah, like I was saying my gun was in my ankle holster. I figured I would have to bend down, get my pants leg out of the way, draw my piece and then get back up into a firing position. By the time I did that the shooting would be over with my partner and me dead. So instead, I reached for a gun that was a lot closer to my hand and a lot easier to access," Lennie said by way of finishing his explanation. 

"A gun that was under Lt. Van Buren's skirt, strapped to her thigh?" Miller asked sounding incredulous. 

"Yeah, " Lennie answered with a bit of a challenge in his voice. 

"If an officer under my command stuck his hand under my skirt between my thighs, being shot would be only one of his worries," Miller stated emphatically. 

All the men in the room laughed but not too heartily. "Guess my lieutenant is easier going than you," Lennie said. 

Miller reached over and turned off the tape recorder. "Is that because she _is **your**_ lieutenant?" she asked. 

Lennie sat back in his chair a little taken a back. 

"Nickie, I thought we were gonna wait until we were done with the OIS investigation and Michaels' complaint to get into that," Garcia said before Lennie could think about how to answer her. 

"Well, it was just how he said it that made me want to say what I did," she said sounding a bit miffed. 

"Look Bobby, does it really matter when we discuss the fraternization issue as long as we do it off the record?" Miller asked her partner. 

"No, I guess not," Garcia conceded. 

"Wait, you planned all along to discuss this off the record?" Lennie asked a bit confused. 

"Yeah, well the policies against fraternization fall under IAB's jurisdiction for enforcement but, for a variety of reasons, my partner and I aren't really comfortable enforcing them," Garcia answered. 

"You mind if I ask what some of those reasons are?" Lennie asked. 

"Well, for one thing the policies are very difficult to enforce. I mean, well, if people want to fraternize and they are very discreet about it, then they're going to get away with it. If some one is punished for fraternization they may manipulate the system by having one half of the couple claim sexual harassment and then come after the entire department for having an 'environment' that promotes the problem, etc, etc," Miller answered. 

"Plus, we'd feel like hypocrites if we came down on you and Lt. Van Buren for something we ourselves are guilty of," Garcia said as he glanced at Miller. Both of them smiled. 

"You mean, you two?" Phil, who'd been fairly quiet throughout the entire interview, asked somewhat inarticulately. 

"Yeah, as we began to realize what we were seeing on the videotape, and we ran the tapes back and watched both nights by the way, we realized Detective Briscoe and Lt. Van Buren weren't too much different than us, except they'd been pushed into their relationship by a very difficult situation," Miller answered. 

Miller turned to Lennie, "Detective Briscoe, Lennie, there's one thing I want to ask. Do you feel that you and Anita were pushed into a relationship that would not have happened except for this undercover operations?" she asked gently, showing concern for Lennie and Anita. 

"No, I think we would have ended up together regardless, but it probably would have taken us a lot longer," Lennie answered truthfully. 

"OK. Look, we just want to warn you to be careful. Most of the IAB agents have an unwritten policy about fraternization. If you don't do anything that makes another officer come to us and ask us to investigate you, then we won't tell you that you have to stop working together, nor will we suggest any sort of reprimand on your record," Garcia added. 

"Consider this a warning. And remember you only get one," Miller said. As she reached out and turned the recorder back on, Lennie let out a sigh. He hadn't realized how much the fraternization issue had weighed on his mind. He made a mental note to talk to Garcia and Miller more after the interview was over, hoping they'd be willing to share some insights with him and Anita. 

"Well I think we can sign off on this OIS, don't you?" Miller asked her partner. 

"Yes, Detective Briscoe you'll need to set up a time to talk to the department psychologist about the ramifications of the shooting but other than that you're clear on the shooting. Now we need to address the complaint Michaels made against you," Garcia said as he signed a form and passed it to Miller. 

"Michaels charges you with insubordination, conduct unbecoming a police officer and assaulting a superior officer," Miller said reading a document from a folder. 

"Unfortunately the surveillance tapes end before the incident Michaels describes," Garcia said. 

"So you want to tell us your side of the story?" Miller asked. 

"Where do you want me to start?" Lennie asked. 

"Well, where do you think you should start?" Garcia asked. 

"I guess maybe I should tell you that I thought Michaels original idea for this undercover op was absurd. He wanted me to lose Anita to the hit man so she'd be on the inside," Lennie paused and he looked at three cops with shocked expressions. 

"So from the get go I wasn't to thrilled with this guy Michaels. He was also disrespectful towards Anita, uh Lt. Van Buren," Lennie corrected himself remembering that the tape recorder was going again. 

"How was he disrespectful?" Miller asked. 

"When he was describing what this hit man liked - to play pool and to gamble for the other player's girlfriend, he said 'particularly if she's a sweet little piece of brown sugar', he looked right at Anita, Lt Van Buren," Lennie corrected himself again and Miller gave him a look that seemed to say 'come on guy, get your act together'. 

"When I pointed out how bad his plan was he asked Lt Van Buren if she was afraid of it," Lennie gave a quick look to Miller as if to say 'see I can get it right', then he continued. 

"She said she was because there was no idea of where he'd take her or how long it might take to get back up to her. He accused her of losing her edge because she'd been riding a desk," Lennie explained. 

Miller scratched down some notes. Lennie waited for her to finish. 

"Anyway, as you saw on the tape when the operation was winding up, my partner Ed Green came in alone, in the nick of time, to give us backup. If Michaels had sent in enough back up, like maybe two uniforms front and back, at that time, then maybe nobody gets shot; you know, the hit man and body guards might have put down their guns if they were outnumbered, and then maybe my partner doesn't have a hole through his shoulder that was bleeding like a fountain," Lennie said getting worked up. 

"I was doing the best I could for Ed, trying to get the wound to stop bleeding by applying pressure through a folded up bar towel, his blood soaked through the towel all over my hands," Lennie looked down at his hands as though he could still see the blood on them. 

"When EMS showed up I moved away from Eddie to let them care for him. I looked around the room and spotted Michaels talking to; no scratch that, talking at Lt. Van Buren. I walked over to them, when he saw me he starts to tell me he wants something from me, but I cut him off and told him I didn't care what he wanted. I suspect that's what he's calling insubordination, by the way. That's when I grabbed his hands with mine, which were covered with blood. I told him I thought it was appropriate for his hands to really be covered with Ed Green's blood as it was his fault Ed got shot. And I suspect that's what he is calling assaulting a superior officer. What he's on about, in terms of the conduct unbecoming, I haven't a clue," Lennie concluded. 

"So you don't deny cutting him off when he was trying to give you orders, nor do you deny smearing Ed Green's blood on his hands?" Garcia asked. 

Lennie looked at Phil. Phil's expression was one of resignation, he sighed and nodded. 

"No, I don't deny those charges," Lennie confirmed. 

"You realize you can be suspended without pay for either of those infractions?" Garcia asked. 

"Yes, I know that," Lennie responded quietly. 

"I wonder if a suspension without pay is actually going to be much of a penalty for Detective Briscoe? I mean he could look at it as a vacation and I'm sure he could find somewhere where he could legally shoot enough pool to replace his lost wages," Garcia observed with a grin. 

"My recommendation is to put him at the bottom of the promotion list and instruct the chief of the detective squad at the 2-7 to mete out what she deems to be an appropriate disciplinary action," Miller suggested. 

"Yes, his own supervisor should know him well enough to know what might prove distasteful enough to convince Detective Briscoe to mend his ways," Garcia said. 

Lennie couldn't believe it, these two had just left his punishment up to his lover and they knew darn well what they'd done. 

Miller reached out and turned off the tape recorder again. 

"We're done," she said. "Oh Lennie, don't think we've done you a favor. If your Lt. Van Buren doesn't come up with something appropriate in the way of a disciplinary action you may have some trouble on that don't ask, don't tell issue," Miller added as a warning. 

"Uhm, yeah I guess I get that. Uh, I was wondering do you think maybe the four of us, you two, Anita and me, could get together sometime? I think Anita and I could use some advice," Lennie said hopefully. 

"Sure, give us a call this evening and we can discuss it," Garcia said as he wrote a number on the back of his card and handed it to Lennie. 

"Now if you don't mind it's almost time for us to go off duty, and if we don't hurry up on this paper work ,we'll have to stay over onto the day shift," Miller added. 

* * *

Lennie offered to buy Phil a cup of coffee. The two men talked for a while about the IAB review and then switched to other topics, chiefly the former partner they had in common, Mike Logan. Phil concluded that although he saw Mike more often, because his wife Elaine insisted Mike come over for dinner at least once a month, Lennie actually knew more about Mike's life. Phil figured that was because Mike felt more comfortable discussing some things with Lennie because he was a fellow bachelor, or had been. Phil then spent a few minutes teasing Lennie about losing his bachelor status, then looked at his watch and said he had to get going because Elaine expected him to take the family to mass.

* * *

Anita arrived at her house about 7:45 and found Don sitting in the kitchen drinking coffee. 

"Morning 'Nita, I made some coffee if you'd like some," he offered. 

"Sure, I'd like to talk over a few things with you, if you've got time?" she asked. 

"OK, say how about you make me some eggs and bacon and we can talk over breakfast?" Don suggested. 

"Sure," Anita said wearily and headed to the refrigerator, as she did she again thought of the difference between Don and Lennie, one man who sometimes seemed to expected her to be his servant and put up with whatever he said or did and the other who respected her, treated her like an equal in most things and like she was far above him in others. 

She set Don's breakfast in front of him. "Where's yours 'Nita, " Don asked. 

"I ate earlier at Lennie's," she answered. 

"I see," Don said shortly. 

"Don, I'd like our divorce to be settled as soon as possible. I think the one thing that we need to get to is to figure out a fair property settlement," she said and Don just nodded, as his mouth was full of his breakfast. 

"Because I do want the divorce to be final sooner rather than later, I'm willing to be very cooperative in terms of the settlement. I'm willing to relinquish any claim to the assets of the store," Don's eyes snapped up to look at Anita showing that the store was a major issue with him as she had supposed it would be. 

"I'd like to be able to keep my pension entirely as my own and as to the house, well I don't really want it, so I'm not sure what to do about it," she finished. 

"You sure you don't want the house?" Don asked. 

"Yes, I'm sure. It's too big a place for a couple and anyway I don't want to ask Lennie to live in another man's house," Anita answered. 

"He's all you think about now, isn't he? You don't care whether your boys might like to be able to come home to the house they grew up in, all you care about is Lennie shouldn't have to live in my house. Well, hell 'Nita he's banging my wife, why shouldn't he do it in our old bedroom, huh?" Don snapped. 

"Don, where is all this jealousy coming from? You and me have been over for years, so why are you acting like this all of a sudden," she demanded to know. 

"I don't know. I just sometimes feel it well up inside me and I can't explain it. What was it your grandma used to say something about being a dog in a manger? Dog doesn't eat hay but as long as he's in the manger, none of the animals that do eat it can," Don said, sounding a bit remorseful. 

"You don't want me but you don't want someone else to have me, is that what you're saying?" Anita asked. 

"Yeah, I guess that's it. And somehow I feel like I lost out, like you're saying this Lennie Briscoe is a better man than me and knowing what I know about him that smarts," Don added thinking about Lennie's alcoholism and all the women in and out of his life. 

"Don, it's not that Lennie is a better man than you. You're a good man; you're just not the right man for me. I'm not sure you ever were," Anita said. 

"Don't say that, I know there was a time when you loved me. Those boys of ours, they were made from love, Anita. Don't you ever say otherwise," he said getting rather emotional. 

"You're right Don. I'm sorry I said that. I just, I guess I been trying to explain to myself how I could have falling out of love with you if I was ever really in love with you, 'cause it makes me scared that it'll happen again," Anita said by way of apology. 

"No, I don't think it'll happen again. We were pretty young when we got married, 'Nita. I don't think we were finished growing up and we grew apart. You're all grown up now, you know yourself and how you feel about things. If you're convinced you love Lennie, then you do and you aren't gonna fall out of love with him, lucky bastard," Don concluded. 

Anita gave a small laugh. "You know something Don Van Buren, sometimes you say things that make me want to strangle you and other times you say things that are so sweet". 

Don gave a huge sigh. "Let's get back to talking about the divorce. I think you're shortchanging yourself on the store. You help me get established. We couldn't have made a go of it, if we didn't have your salary to rely on. Let's do it this way, I think what I could claim of your pension plus my share of what the house is worth ought to be equal to half the store's value. So you keep the pension all to yourself and all the equity in the house," Don suggested. 

"Didn't you hear me say I don't want the house?" Anita said. 

"I did and I said the equity not the house. When Stefan's finished with school, we'll sell the house and you take the profit, do what you want with it," Don proposed. 

"And what about Stefan?" Anita asked. 

"What do you mean what about him?" she asked. 

"Well, since he's not 18 yet, we've got to talk about custody and support," Anita said. 

"He's gonna turn 18 soon, do we really need to come up with some sort of complicated visitation schedule and support payments?" Don asked in a voice that said how much he loathed the idea. 

"You know I don't think we do really, let's just let Stefan decide-" 

"Let me decide what?" Stefan said as he entered the kitchen, stopping to kiss his mother before heading to the refrigerator. He'd been standing on the stairs listening to his parents' conversation for quite a while, a bad habit he'd picked up as a little kid, but at least he knew who his Mom's boyfriend was now and he had a bit of an explanation for his Dad's attitude of late. 

"Who you want to live with," his father answered. 

"I want to live with both of you," Stefan answered, "but I think we've already figured out you two shouldn't be living in the same house anymore. How about I split my time between you? Lots of my friends whose parents are divorced spend one or two weeks with one parent and then switch," he explained. 

"Yeah, that ought to work except neither one of us has anywhere to live except the house," Don noted. 

"Well, why don't you stay here at the house until Stefan graduates and then you can get an apartment after the house sells. I'll get a 2 bedroom apartment near work as soon as I can and Stefan come and stay there when it's my turn to have him," Anita said. 

"How about I don't go anywhere Mom. You and Dad just move in and out every two weeks? You can live with Lennie at his apartment when you're not here and Dad you can live in the little apartment behind the store," Stefan proposed. 

"Well-" Anita started. 

"What's the problem with my idea, Mom?" Stefan asked. 

"I think she's thinking about Lennie. She doesn't think he'd want to live here in my house and I'm sure she doesn't want to spend two weeks without him," Don said a little smugly. 

"Let me talk to Lennie about this OK? I think we can figure out something that works. In the meantime, let's just assume that starting tomorrow your two weeks with your Dad starts, OK?" She asked and Stefan and Don both nodded. 

Don got up and put his dishes in the sink. "Well I think we've covered most things. I'll call the attorney tomorrow and see what we can set up," he said and Anita nodded. 

"You gonna come with me to church today?" Anita asked her son. 

"Uh, I didn't think you'd want to go Mom," Stefan said sounding surprised. 

"Why not?" Anita asked. 

"Well, you remember that Reverend Williams has been preaching on the Ten Commandments right?" Stefan said. 

"Yes, I know that," Anita said sounding a bit surprised herself. 

"Well, he's on the seventh commandment, you do know what that one is don't you Mom?" he asked. 

Anita took a moment to get Stefan's point and then put her hand over her mouth, turned and ran up the stairs to her bedroom. 

"Stefan, how could you do that to your Momma?" Don Van Buren asked his son, actually feeling very badly for his soon to be ex-wife. 

"Better I did it here than she got to church and started listening to a sermon on adultery and got to feeling awful about it there in front of all her church 'friends'. It's gonna be bad enough when those hypocrites find out what's going on in Mom's life. I bet there won't be just a few of them shun her," Stefan said, obviously upset with the thought that many of his mother's so called friends would undoubtedly pass a harsh judgment on his mother's most recent actions. 

"Well, one of us better go see to her and I don't think it ought to be me," Don said firmly. 

"Yeah, I know, I made her upset, so I'll go try to make her feel better," Stefan said. 

* * *

Stefan could hear his Mom crying as he approached her bedroom door. He knocked and called out, "Mom, Mom please let me in". 

Anita let her son in and he gave her a big hug. He spent more than an hour talking to her about her relationship with Lennie and how she felt about it. They also talked about how he felt about her relationship with Lennie. Stefan pulled no punches. He told her the things he was concerned about like Lennie's alcoholism and his past history with women. He also revealed his concern that Lennie might not want him and Ric to have much of a place in their own Mom's life. Anita was able to put her son's fears at ease for the most part and suggested that he and Ric probably needed to get together with Lennie and have a talk. 

By the time they finished talking, Anita felt better about all sorts of things and truly amazed at the intelligent, compassionate young man her son was becoming. She looked at the time and realized she'd missed the beginning of church services so she decided not to go at all, but to get ready to go see Ed Green at the hospital. She told Stefan what her plans were and gave him Lennie's phone number telling him to call her at Lennie's anytime he wanted to. She then packed a suitcase with more of her clothes and headed off to the hospital. 

* * *

When Lennie arrived at the hospital he checked and found that Ed had been moved to the 4th floor. He was a little early for visiting hours but figured he might be able to sneak in early, so he headed up to the fourth floor. Just down the hall from Ed's room in a visitor's waiting area he spotted a well dressed but rumpled looking black man who looked to be about his age. Lennie thought that Ed would look quite a bit like this man in 20 or so years, so he assumed that Ed's sister had decided to call their father. 

"Mr. Green?" Lennie asked hesitantly as he approached the man. 

"Yes, I'm Charles Green," the man answered expectantly. 

"Lennie Briscoe, I'm Ed's partner," Lennie informed the other man and immediately saw the man's tired features change to a scowl. 

"Should have figured you'd be here. Guess my daughter was right. She said there wasn't any need for me to come because you'd be there for him like you always were," he said as he began to rise. 

"Wait Mr. Green, I don't know why your daughter would say something like that to you. Of course you needed to come, he's your son and he's been hurt. It would do him a world of good to know his father cared enough to come see him," Lennie said as he tried to get the other man to sit back down. 

"Cared enough to come see him!" Green practically exploded at Lennie. "I love that boy!" 

"Then let me give you some advice, father to father. Let him know that. Let him know that despite the fact that you don't approve of his career choice that you still love him, because I can tell you two things. First, Ed loves you, but he's hurt way down deep that you two are estranged. Second, if something happens to Ed, and in our line of business it certainly could, and you haven't managed to find a way to get your relationship with him back to where it should be, then it will haunt you the rest of your life. I know, I lost my oldest daughter six years ago and I feel it every day. I always wish I'd tried just a little bit harder to fix things between us, but I never got the chance. I didn't try hard enough and I waited too long to try again. Don't you wait too long," Lennie told the other man over the lump that was growing in his throat as he thought of his Cathy. 

Charles Green looked at the man in front of him. He had heard his daughter telling him how Ed talked all the time about Lennie; Lennie said this, Lennie did that. She made him think that this man had taken his place in Ed's life, that he was more than a partner to him; he was a surrogate father. Yet here this man was telling him to reclaim his place in his boy's life and he was exposing his own pain as a father to try to motivate him. 

Lennie felt uncomfortable under the other man's scrutiny but he tried not to show it. He hoped he could convince the man to patch things up with Ed. If he could it would go a long way towards thanking Ed for saving his life and Anita's. 

Charles Green finally found his voice. "I wish I knew how to fix things between me and Eddie," he said softly. 

"Well, I'm certainly no expert on repairing father-child relationships but I'd be willing to kick some ideas around with you, Mr. Green" Lennie said. 

"Please have a seat and call me Charlie," the other man said with a smile. 

"When you smile I can see the resemblance even more," Lennie noted. 

The two men talked for almost an hour. At first Lennie shared insights into Ed's life that his father was not aware of; he talked about the anger and the sense of not quite fitting in that his partner seemed to always carry with him. He told Charlie Green about his son's troubles with gambling and using excessive force. Lennie likened the first problem to his own alcoholism. He also tried to make him understand about the special relationship that exists between a cop and his partner and to reassure him that in his and Ed's case it wasn't a father son relationship, despite what Ed's sister tried to imply. Then he spent time extolling Ed's virtues as a cop, trying to make the other man appreciate that his son's career choice wasn't a bad one just a different one, and that Ed was making a success of it. 

"One final piece of advice, you look beat. Why don't you go get some rest, come back when you're not so tired? It's a lot easier to say or do the wrong thing when you're exhausted," Lennie advised. 

"Well I don't know, visiting hours are starting and he'll be expecting someone to look in on him," Charlie said. 

"Don't worry about that, he'll have a steady stream of visitors from the precinct and I'll tell him you're gonna stop by this afternoon," Lennie reassured him. 

"OK, I guess I could use a nap and a shower. I came straight here from the airport and it was a pretty long trip," Charlie conceded. 

Lennie walked Charlie to the elevator and when the elevator doors opened there was Anita. Lennie made a quick introduction between her and Ed's father and then again told the other man to get some rest. 

When the elevator closed, Lennie took the opportunity to "trap" Anita against the wall and kiss her. 

"Hey you, do we need to have a discussion about what does and doesn't constitute being discrete?" she asked when he released her from the kiss. 

"I'm sorry I couldn't resist, besides who's gonna see us that would make a difference?" he asked. 

"Maybe someone visiting Ed?" she offered. 

"Nope, visiting hours just started a little while ago and no one's gotten here yet but Ed's Dad and us, so there," Lennie said and kissed her again but Anita pulled out of the kiss quickly. 

"Lennie, please! Someone could come off that elevator at any moment," she admonished him. 

"OK, OK I'll behave. Let's go see Ed," he suggested, feeling disappointed that Anita seemed so serious when he was feeling playful. 

Anita knew she'd upset Lennie with her attitude and she wondered to herself how much of her attitude was caused by the topic that started the discussion with Stefan. Was her relationship with Lennie wrong, sinful even? She shook her head slightly and realized they were already at the room. 

* * *

During their visit to Ed, Lennie recounted what had happened at his IAB interview including the off the record material, which Anita was glad to hear about but felt nervous discussing where someone might walk in. Ed said that IAB wanted to talk to him as soon as he felt up to it and he wondered if he too was going to be up on insubordination charges. Lennie defended what Ed had done saying he'd probably saved his life and Anita's and telling him they'd be forever grateful to him. Lennie then told Ed that his father would be in this afternoon. He explained that Charlie had come straight from the airport and had arrived just before visiting hours, but after talking with him for a while Lennie convinced him to get some rest before seeing Ed, as it would probably make things go smoother if he wasn't dog tired when he tired to talk to Ed. 

"My Dad told you to call him Charlie?" Ed said in amazement. 

"Yeah, why? Is that unusual?" Lennie asked. 

"Yeah, only family and close friends are allowed to call him Charlie," Ed replied. 

"Well, maybe since you and I are partners, he figures that puts me somewhere in the friend category," Lennie said. 

"Yeah, I guess so. Did he really say he wanted to fix things between us?" Ed said sounding like a hopeful young boy instead of a grown man. 

"Yeah, he said that and that he loved you," Lennie said. 

Ed closed his eyes trying to stop the tears that wanted to fall from his eyes. 

Lennie felt a lump forming in his throat and he looked over to see that Anita seemed to be in the same boat. 

"Hey, we can't have three of New York's finest bawling here. Let's change the subject, OK?" Lennie suggested. 

"Ok, so have you two figured out how you're gonna manage this new relationship of yours?" Ed asked. 

Lennie and Anita looked at each other and Anita took the initiative. "No, we haven't had a chance to sit down and talk out the details," she said then looking at Lennie meaningfully she continued, "but we will, today," she added emphatically. 

"Hey man, sounds like you're in for a lecture," Ed teased. 

"Yeah, well if she thinks she's gonna be the boss both at work and at home she's got another think coming," Lennie joked. 

"Oh and I suppose you think you're gonna be the boss at home, huh?" Anita responded. 

"Well, a man can dream can't he?" Lennie said with a laugh. 

Just then the door opened and Ana Cordova peeked in. 

"Is there room for one more in here?" she asked. 

"Well, there will be as I was just about to leave," Lennie said. 

"Me too," Anita added, thankful that Lennie had thought to say something that didn't make it seem like they were together. 

"Don't let me run you two off," Ana said, looking at the newly minted couple and thinking they looked great together. 

"You're not, besides I'm sure Ed would prefer your lovely company to mine," Lennie said with a smile. 

Lennie and Anita said their goodbyes to Ed and headed out of his room.

* * *

"Where to now?" Lennie asked. 

"Your apartment, we need to have that talk," Anita said decisively. 

Anita explained the conversation she'd had with Don and Stefan on the way over to the apartment. 

"So do you think you can manage living in my old house, Don's house a couple of weeks at a time every two weeks?" she asked. 

"As long as your happy and I'm with you I'll be fine, but what are your neighbors gonna think of my being there?" Lennie said. 

Anita sighed, this was the crux of the discussion she'd had with Stefan. Did she love Lennie enough to put up with what people would say about her and might their living together in her house lead to some busybody saying something about it to the NYPD? 

"I don't care what they think or even what they say. I love you and my sons and that's what matters," she answered firmly just as they pulled into the parking lot at Lennie's Apartment building. 

* * *

After they got into the apartment Lennie tried to pull Anita into a kiss but she pushed away from him saying she needed to unpack her clothes. 

"What is this? Why are you being this way?" Lennie asked concerned. 

"Being what way?" Anita asked as though she had no clue what he meant and started putting some of her clothes in Lennie's closet. 

"Don't do me that way. You don't want to talk about this OK, but don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about," Lennie said angrily and walked away from her. 

"Lennie, wait, I'm sorry," she said and tried to cuddle up to him from behind but he was still angry, so he didn't turn to hold her but just let her hold on to him. 

"I said I'm sorry" she repeated and tried to get him to turn and face her. 

"I don't want an apology. I want an explanation. Why are you pulling away from me?" Lennie said finally facing her. She could see in his face that he wasn't really angry; he was scared. 

She buried her face in his chest and began recounting her conversation with her son. 

"So are you having second thoughts about us being together?" Lennie asked feeling devastated. 

"No, no I'm not, not really. It just finally dawned on me how this is going to seem to other people. If my own son has doubts about my actions, " she paused. "But no, I'm not going to do this to myself and I'm certainly not going to do this to you. I love you and I can't believe there's anything wrong with that. I just can't," she said and then drew his head down to kiss him. She gave herself heart and soul to the kiss and Lennie felt the fear that had gripped him a moment ago vanish to be replaced by the overwhelming love and desire he felt for the woman in his arms. 

* * *

They lay entwined on the bed, snuggled together under the covers in the middle of the afternoon, whispering to each other their innermost thoughts. Finally they began to talk about mundane things like how they were going to handle their new schedule and the commute to work. When they'd be able to get a new apartment and how big it should be and where it should be. They'd settled on getting a new place by the time his lease ran out in July and were torn between a 2 or 3 bedroom place somewhere within an easy commute of the precinct. Lennie insisted that they needed a very large closet in the master bedroom. 

"Let's see if we can find a place that allows pets, OK?" Lennie suggested. 

"You like fuzzy little creatures?" she asked teasingly. 

"Well, I like cats and dogs," he answered with a grin. 

Before they could say anything else the phone rang. Lennie went into the living room to answer it and felt a bit self-conscientious talking on the phone to Anita's son without a stitch of clothes on. He brought the phone to Anita. After a short conversation she handed the phone back so Lennie and Stefan could set up a time for them to met with Anita's other son Ric and have a 'chat'. 

"Well, that seemed to go OK," Lennie said. 

"Yes, I suppose it's my turn now. Why don't you call Julia?" she suggested as she snuggled into his side. 

"Good idea, find out what she wanted and tell her about us," he replied. 

He dialed his daughter's number and stroked Anita's arm as he waited for Julia to answer. 

"Hi Julia". 

"Yeah, it's Dad. Sorry I wasn't home the other night," Lennie said as Anita tried to imagine the other side of the conversation. 

"Well, both really, I can't go into detail about the operation we were on but some of it will probably come out in the papers pretty soon, then I can tell you all about it. There was a lot of fall out from it though, some good, some bad," Lennie said. 

"The bad first huh, OK. My partner was wounded in the shoulder and I was charged with insubordination and assaulting a superior officer," Lennie said. 

"The good, well, I found out that the love of my life loves me back," Lennie said and placed a kiss on the top of Anita's head. 

"Her name's Anita and she's a bit younger than me," Anita jabbed Lennie in the ribs, "Ouch, " he said. "OK, she's 15 years younger than me, she's got two sons, one's in college and the other is a senior in high school," he added. 

"She's chief of the homicide squad," Lennie answered the unheard question. 

"The 2-7," he answered another question. 

"Uh, yes it is," he replied. 

"No, actually I'm living with my boss," Lennie said cheekily. 

"Very happy, a little nervous but very happy," he replied. 

"Not sure what has me more nervous the thought that her sons want to meet me for a little "chat', or that we could get caught by someone in the NYPD or that she's the one who has to mete out my punishment for the insubordination and assault," he answered in jest. 

"No, never! There was this guy in charge of the task force we were doing an undercover op for. The guy's an idiot and a jerk. I don't want to talk about him, OK?" Lennie said trying not to make it sound like he was mad at her. 

"Look, I'd like to put Anita on and let the two of you chat for a bit and then maybe we can make plans to get together sometime soon so you can meet face to face and I can get to see those grandsons of mine, what do you think?" he asked. 

"Here baby, she wants to talk to you," Lennie handed the phone to Anita. 

Anita and Julia, the two women he loved the most in the world, chatted amiably for quite awhile, finally she gave the phone back to him and he arranged for the two of them to go up to see Julia and her husband and sons over the weekend. 

* * *

Lennie and Anita finally got out of bed to make some dinner. 

"So what are you planning to do tomorrow?" Anita asked Lennie. 

"Are we talking shop here?" he asked in between bites of food. 

"Oh, maybe just a bit," she said with a sweet smile, "Can't a woman ask her man a bit about his plans for his workday," she added and got a smile from him. 

"Ok, let's see I've got to return the convertible to the police garage and the flash money to the property clerk, and I've got to write a report for our friend Michaels. Then I thought I'd check with Jack McCoy about the dispensation of the winnings from the undercover op. By the time I get done with that I figure my lieutenant will have probably come up with some very creative punitive assignment for me," he said then picked up her hand and kissed it. "What about you?" he asked. 

"Well, I too have a report to write and then I've got to juggle a duty roster to account for one wounded detective and one who's gonna be deskbound for a while because of his inability to think before he acts! " she teased. 

"Well, since we both have big days tomorrow how about we snuggle up in the big chair and watch a movie or something and then turn in early?" he suggested. 

Just as they were about to settle in to watch a movie, Lennie remembered that he had intended to call Bobby Garcia the IAB officer who had conducted his OIS interview. He made a quick call and set up a "double date" for himself and Anita with Bobby and Nickie for Wednesday evening and then he and Anita snuggled up to watch the movie she'd found. 


	6. Ch 6 Assumptions

**Ch 6 Assumptions**

Lennie set his alarm clock to go off about a half hour earlier than usually, he wanted to make sure he had enough time in the morning for what he had in mind. He made love to Anita and then fell asleep holding her. Anita had a hard time falling asleep, though she couldn't say exactly why. She decided she'd just enjoy being close to Lennie and surely sleep would claim her soon enough. 

Anita was startled awake by the alarm. "What? Oh what time is it, honey?" 

"Six," Lennie answered as he began kissing Anita's face and stroking her arms. 

"Why are we getting up so early?" she asked around a sleepy yawn. 

"So I can start my day like this," Lennie said as he began more aggressively kissing and fondling Anita. 

Anita couldn't believe it, for the first time since she'd been with Lennie, he was behaving just like a Guy! All she could think of was an old Uncle Bonsai song, 'Boys Want Sex in the Morning'. She loved how he loved her but why now, first thing in the morning, before she was even fully awake! Before long his expert manipulations of all her most sensitive areas had her almost forgetting her objections to being awakened so early. In fact, she might have said nothing, except that, as they lay entwined in each other's arms enjoying the 'afterglow', Lennie said, "Yeah, that's the way I want to start every day". 

Anita gave a little laugh, "No, I don't think so," she said. 

"What, why not?" Lennie asked sounding surprised and a bit disappointed. 

She smiled indulgently at him. "Well, I think its one of those Mars Venus things. I'm just not keen on making love while I'm half asleep," she answered gently. 

"Oh," Lennie said sounding very dejected. "Sorry," he added, sounding as though he were becoming angry. He started to get out of bed. 

"Oh, Lennie come here," she said pulling him back down in bed and into her arms. 

"I love you, and I love how you make love to me. I'm just a little cranky this morning because I didn't get much sleep last night, and then I had no idea what you had in mind for this morning. You know, I kind of would have liked to be clued in as to your plans," she explained. 

Suddenly, Lennie realized he'd been a bit presumptuous. Just because he wanted to get up a little early in order to have time to make love to her in the morning didn't mean she wanted the same thing. He should of considered what she wanted too. 

"I'm sorry, " Lennie said and this time she knew he meant it. 

"Hey, who am I to complain? I'm lucky enough to have a man who wants me so much, he's willing to sacrifice sleep to make love to me!" she joked. 

"And anything else too," he added and they both smiled. 

"Well, we better get our day started. You take your shower and I'll make breakfast," Anita suggested. 

"No, I'll make breakfast. You take your shower. It'll take you longer to get ready this morning," Lennie countered. 

"What makes you say that?" she challenged. 

"A) It always takes women longer to get ready because of their hair and makeup and B) you're not used to getting ready here, so its going to take you longer to find things and do things than normal," Lennie countered. 

"OK, you're probably right." Anita conceded, remembering that it had taken her quite awhile to go through her morning routines yesterday. 

Anita was surprised to find that Lennie actually could make a fairly decent breakfast, not that he tried anything too elaborate - coffee, juice, scrambled eggs and toast. She made a mental note to buy some, as Lennie called them, "fake eggs" at the grocery, if eggs were going to be a breakfast staple. 

Somehow despite getting up early they found themselves procrastinating and then running around to try and get out the door to get to work on time. 

Lennie gave Anita a lift to the subway station. As he gave her a kiss he said, "See you this evening, baby". 

"I expect to see you a lot sooner than that," she said with surprise. 

"Well, you won't. You'll see Detective Briscoe at work and I'll see Lieutenant Van Buren," he answered with a smile. 

"Oh, yes your right about that," she said and kissed him again. 

A horn honked and a driver yelled, "Hey this isn't a kiss-n-drop zone you know!" 

"See you tonight, honey," she said as she headed for the subway entrance. 

* * *

Lennie drove the convertible to the police garage and turned it in, saying he'd pick up his car when he was done in the property room. He turned in his flash roll discovering he'd messed up and included some of his winnings, which he had to pocket because the property clerk was adamant about having the correct count. Once he was done there he got his reliable old sedan out of the garage and drove to One Hogan Place to talk to Jack McCoy. 

Jack acted like he was annoyed at Lennie for even bothering to question that he should keep the money. But Lennie was truly concerned about it, so Jack made a few phone calls and then promised Lennie he'd keep the money until he had some form of legal document that showed that it was OK for Lennie to keep it.

Lennie finally headed to the 2-7 arriving a little after 9AM. Unknown to him, details about the undercover operations had begun leaking out in the early AM hours. Agencies in Europe began using the information the NYPD had on Schmidt to match up to evidence they had in unsolved crimes. The profile that was emerging was terrifying; at this point, the serological evidence that had been forwarded to INTERPOL had tied Schmidt to half a dozen unsolved rape/murders of black women where they'd had evidence but no suspect to match it up to. Now that INTERPOL had a clue as to Schmidt's profession they were able to see a pattern of a professional murder for hire occurring immediately after a rape murder. It was obvious that there were going to be multiple requests to extradite Schmidt out of the US. 

By the time Lennie entered the squad room of the 2-7, Anita had already dealt with a lot of congratulations for her part in the operation, when Lennie walked in several people in the squad room applauded and most made their way towards him to shake hands. When he got to his desk he saw messages from reporters for the Post and the Times. Lennie did not look forward to any notoriety, so he called the NYPD's PR department and let them know they could handle it all for him, he had 'no comment'. 

He sat down and wrote up his report for the undercover operation. Shortly after he finished, a courier arrived from One Police Plaza to deliver something to the chief of the detective squad, that is, to Lt. Anita Van Buren. Lennie suspected the courier had brought his OIS report and the recommendation for the dispensation of the charges leveled against him by Michaels. He hailed the courier and gave him his report for Michaels, then sat down and waited for his summons to the chief's office. He didn't have to wait long. 

* * *

"Detective Briscoe would you come into my office for a moment," Anita said as she stood in her office's doorway. 

Lennie slowly heaved himself up from his desk. "Yes, ma'am," he replied and walked to her office. 

"Close the door," she told him. 

"I'm putting you on two weeks desk duty. You'll do all the squad's backed up paperwork-make sure everyone in the squad knows that and knows why you're doing the paperwork for the squad," she ordered. 

"What?" Lennie started to protest. 

"You have a problem with this assignment Detective?" Anita said in a sharp voice of warning that sounded nothing like the sweet purr of his lover. 

"No ma'am," Lennie replied knowing he needed to behave himself. 

"You will also avail yourself of all appropriate IT courses during these next two weeks," she added. 

Lennie's eyebrows climbed his forehead but he didn't say anything at first, and then he finally decided he couldn't be totally straight through their encounter or people would think it strange too, so he asked, "Do you suppose they have a 'computers for dummies' class?" 

"Let's hope so," Anita said with a grin. 

"Dismissed, detective," she added as she tried to wipe the grin off her face. 

* * *

Lennie went out and started gathering files from the rest of the squad members and explaining why he was doing it. His explanation broke down into a retelling of the undercover operation. When his colleagues tried to protest a hero being punished especially by being turned into the equivalent of the squad room's PAA, he deflected that saying Ed Green was the hero. He also admitted that he'd screwed up by acting without thinking through the possible consequences of his actions. He didn't add that he'd have done it even if he had thought it through, as that wouldn't set an appropriate example. 

Ana Cordova offered to look through all the IT training courses and choose the ones that would make the most sense for Lennie. Initially he groaned but then thanked her. She managed to come up with a schedule that had him in computer classes every other day for about half a day and would actually, if he paid close attention, get him up to speed on most things he should know to be considered computer literate. 

After lunch Emil Skoda called to set up a time to do the post shooting Psych evaluation. He couldn't fit Lennie in right away, but as Lennie was a veteran cop and on desk duty for a while he wasn't too concerned. The earliest appointment he had was for first thing Thursday morning. Lennie was glad Skoda would be doing the eval so he didn't have to hide anything. Not that he planned to bear his soul to Skoda, just wasn't his style. 

The rest of the day dragged as Lennie slogged through one pile of paperwork after another. When Anita was asked to come up with a bit of creative disciplinary action, she sure did a good job. A slight smile quirked his lips as he thought about going home and complaining to his lover about his bitch of a boss. 

As 5 o'clock approached Lennie felt sort of awkward about going home. Anita had ridden the subway in and he had driven. Some how it didn't feel very chivalrous to make his lady take the subway but how else could they keep people from realizing they were going home together. Finally he decided to go talk to her about it. 

* * *

"Uhm, Anita what did you want to do about our going home?" he asked hesitantly. 

"What do you mean?" she asked. 

"Well, I don't know it just doesn't seem fair that I drive home and you take the subway," Lennie observed. 

"Yeah well, it wouldn't be too bright for you to give me a lift to the apartment, now would it?" she answered. 

"No, I guess not. Hey, what about this, let's go see how Ed's doing, I can certainly offer you a lift to the hospital without raising any suspicions," Lennie suggested. 

"OK, " she smiled. "Let's go see Ed". 

* * *

They visited with Ed until his Dad and sister came by. Ed was very grateful to Lennie for talking to his Dad; it had helped the father and son patch things up quite a bit. They still had some work to do to get their relationship to where they both wanted and needed it to be, but at least they'd started rebuilding and that was what was important. 

They did a little shopping and then went home. They spent a quiet evening cooking dinner and then dancing, well holding each other and swaying back and forth, to some of Lennie's fabulous music selection. They again turned in fairly early and this time it was Anita who made sure the alarm would go off early but not for the same reason as Lennie had. 

* * *

When the alarm sounded Anita forced herself to get up and try to find her jogging clothes and sneakers, wishing she'd thought to set them out the night before. 

Lennie propped himself up on his elbow and yawned. "What are you doing?" he asked sleepily. 

"I'm gonna go for a run," she replied. "Did you realize your apartment was so close to a park with a cinder running track?" she asked. 

"Uh, yes I did and no your not, at least not at this hour of the morning," he said with as much authority as he could muster before 6AM. 

"Excuse me," she said sounding a bit affronted. 

"A woman running alone at dawn, you think that's smart?" Lennie asked. 

"Lennie I need the exercise. When else am I gonna get it?" she argued. 

"Alright, hang on, I'll go with you," he said as he levered himself out of bed and began trying to remember where his sweats were and trying to picture whether or not he had a pair of shoes he could run in comfortably. 

He dressed as quickly as he could and then found his keys, stuffing his driver's license into his left sneaker. 

"What are you doing?" Anita asked. 

"What's it look like I'm doing? I'm sticking my ID in my shoe," he said. "Don't you do that when you go for a run?" he asked. 

"No, I don't," she answered. 

"Geesh, some cop you are. Willing to run alone at dawn with no ID on you. Do you ever listen to any safety advice?" he asked as he shook his head at her. "OK, you ready?" he asked as he finished tying his shoe. 

"Just a second I want to get a bottle of water," she said as she went to the frig and grabbed two bottles of water and handed him one. He gave her a look. 

"Oh yeah and I bet you jog without water, probably don't warm up, stretch or cool down either," she said, trying to get even with him. 

"Who said I jog?" he replied with a grin. 

* * *

After jogging a couple of miles with Anita, Lennie was grateful that he was a good 8 inches taller than her as it meant that with his longer legs he could take fewer strides, effectively jogging slower, and still keep up with her. He knew he was out of shape, but he couldn't believe how bad it was. He just hoped they didn't really need him to have his ID on him; it wouldn't do much for their attempts at having a discrete relationship if he had a heart attack while they were out jogging. 

The walked back to the apartment and Anita insisted he do some stretches just as she had insisted he stretch before jogging, 

"How often do you do this?" he asked, relieved to find he'd already caught his breath, maybe he wasn't as out as shape as he'd thought. 

"At least three times a week, unless I go to an aerobics class instead," she answered. 

"I don't think I'd feel comfortable at one of your aerobics classes but I'd be willing to jog with you every other morning," he offered, thinking it would be a pleasant way for him to get back in shape. He was a little shocked to find that that was now something he really wanted to do. 

"Your on," she said with a smile, happy to think she was able to get him to do some exercise with her. 

Lennie was scheduled for some computer training over at One Police Plaza, so he decided he'd take the subway with Anita, as they wouldn't be getting off at the same stop, nobody would notice. 

* * *

Anita found the morning a bit distracting because when she looked out at her squad room she saw Ed and Lennie's empty desks, yet she knew they weren't out investigating a homicide. She had known for years that Lennie was her best investigator and that twice within a very short time he had turned his partner into one of her best as well. She really hoped she didn't come up with a tough case in the next couple of weeks or she might have to take to the field herself. No, she needed to trust some of her other investigators and let them step up and take up the slack. 

She was relieved when the afternoon came and Lennie was back, though watching him plow through paperwork was almost painful. She could tell he was really chafing at the work but trying not to let it show. He was even trying not to take it out on the rest of the detectives, though in the middle of the afternoon he did give one of the junior detectives a lecture about how to keep accurate notes so that a report could be written up without Lennie having to interview him to figure out what the guy had done. 

* * *

When work was over they stopped to see Ed again, getting the good news that Ed would be released in the morning and would be staying with his sister for a while. He would be back to work in about a week and a half, though he'd be on desk duty probably for several months. After their visit they headed home and made dinner. Just after they'd finished, the phone rang. Lennie dried his hands, he'd been helping Anita do the dishes, and picked it up. He had a pleasant conversation with Stefan for a minute or so, and then Stefan said he wanted to speak to his Mom. Lennie handed Anita the phone and eavesdropped on her side of the conversation. 

"Hi Stefan, what's up?" Anita asked. 

"Oh, I better call her back before she gets worried about me," Anita said. 

"Well, I'm certainly not gonna lie to her," she said. 

"Yeah, well your probably right about that. Anything new with you?" She asked. 

"I love you too. Bye" Anita said with a laugh. 

"What was that about?" Lennie asked after she hung up. 

"My Mom called," she answered. 

"Oh," was all Lennie said. 

"Yes, and when are you gonna tell your Mom about us?" Anita asked. 

"When I have to," he replied. 

"What, are you ashamed of me or something?" Anita asked. 

"No, but as much as I love my Mom, God bless her, she is a gossip. She'll tell my sister-in-law Barbara and Barbara will tell my nephew Ken. You know, the one who works in the SVU?" Lennie explained. 

"And?" Anita prompted. 

"And Ken inherited his grandmother's gossiping gene," Lennie responded. 

It was Anita's turn to say "Oh". 

Anita spent quite a while on the phone with her mother and then her sister, explaining about the divorce and about her living with Lennie. He felt a little insecure listening to Anita's side of the conversations. He tried to distract himself by reading a magazine. Anita never offered to have him talk to her mother or sister and he didn't think that was a good sign. As soon as she hung up the phone he wanted a report. 

"So what do they think?" Lennie asked. 

"Well, you have to understand both my Mom and my sister are very conservative. The concepts of divorce and living with someone are pretty foreign to them," she began. 

"Oh great, they hate me," Lennie said jumping to conclusions and sounding defeated. 

"No, they don't. Once they meet you, they'll adore you and for now they are reserving judgment. Both of them said that as long as I was happy that was what was important," Anita told him. 

She walked over to him and grabbed two handfuls of the front of his shirt, "And I am definitely happy with you," she purred and then kissed him. 

He took one of her hands in his and began leading her to the bedroom. "Let's see if I can make you a little happier," he said with a smirk. 

* * *

Lennie and Anita both were beginning to feel like things were settling down for them, though they both realized it was still very early in their relationship and they really weren't doing their normal jobs yet. When Lennie got back to fieldwork maybe then they could say that things were back to a new normal. 

Wednesday had passed without much excitement and Lennie was growing bored with the stacks of paper in front of him. So when his phone rang at four o'clock Lennie grabbed it before it could ring twice. "Briscoe," he answered. 

"Hey, get over here and pick up your money," McCoy said jauntily. 

"Really? I really get to keep it?" Lennie said, still not believing his good fortune. 

"Yeah, I told you that days ago. Just pay the taxes on it. So, when can you come over and get it?" Jack asked. 

"In about an hour, after my shift's over," Lennie answered. 

"Oh, come on, are you telling me you can't duck out early? Claim you have a witness interview to do or something," Jack said. 

"Can't do that. I'm on desk duty this week and next," Lennie said. 

"Wow, what are you being punished for," Jack asked. 

Lennie explained what happened after the surveillance cameras turned off. Jack laughed, saying he was surprised he hadn't heard about it from someone. He then told him it would be no problem for Lennie to come over later as he'd be working late anyway thanks to all the fallout from Lennie's undercover work. Schmidt had rolled on the Russian who had hired him and there was a domino effect going on. 

* * *

Lennie was about to leave to pick up the money from Jack when he realized that Anita wouldn't have a way into the apartment because it had never dawned on him to give her the apartment key, so he went to her office taking his apartment key off of his key ring as he walked in. 

"What are you doing?" Anita asked very concerned. 

"I've got to go pick up my winnings over at One Hogan Place and I realized you wouldn't be able to get into the apartment without the key. I should have given you a spare, just didn't think," Lennie said. 

"Yeah and not thinking now, either. Are you crazy walking in her and handing me your apartment key?" she asked animatedly. 

"Calm down. If you just don't overreact nobody will notice," Lennie said putting the key on her desk. 

"I'll be home as soon as I can. Don't forget that we're going over to see Garcia and Miller this evening" he added. 

* * *

Anita let herself into the apartment and headed to the bedroom. She wanted to get out of her work clothes and into something more comfortable. She figured she could relax for an hour or so before she needed to get dressed again to go over to Garcia and Miller's. As she went to take off her slacks the button popped off. She swore, and then searched for it, finding it on the floor near the closet. She put the slacks and the button on the bed and continued undressing. She then started rummaging through Lennie's dresser looking for something of his that would be comfortable to wear. She settled on a very old NYPD T-shirt and a pair of his boxers. 

Anita started looking for a sewing kit so she could fix the button from her pants. She had no idea where Lennie might keep a sewing kit. She knew it wasn't in the medicine cabinet; she'd been in that the first morning she'd spent here when she was looking for toothpaste. If it was in the closet she'd never find it as right now the closet was hopelessly packed with his clothes and some of hers; the floor of his closet was covered with shoes and the upper shelf held several suitcases and some shoeboxes. 

She looked around and spotted the nightstand. Maybe she'd find a sewing kit in there. She opened the drawer and the first thing she saw was a box of condoms. The sight of the condoms gave her mixed feelings. At first their mere presence startled her because she had somehow convinced herself that Lennie must have had a vasectomy, otherwise he would have said something about birth control before they made love the first time. Then she rationalized that even if he had had a vasectomy he'd still be smart to have condoms on hand to protect himself from STDs. 

The thought of Lennie needing to protect himself from a sexually transmitted disease gave her a twinge of jealousy. She knew Lennie had had a lot of women in and out of his life and that made her insecure. She didn't want to be just another one of Lennie's many women; she wanted to be the only woman in his life. He'd told her and shown her, in so many ways, that he loved her but she was still insecure. 

Anita tried to push her insecurities aside and search further for the sewing kit, but as she picked up the condom box to look under it, she saw a package of spermicidal foam applicators. It didn't take a detective to put those clues together. Condoms alone might just be for prevention of STDs but the foam made it pretty clear. Lennie had not had a vasectomy; he depended on condoms and foam to prevent pregnancy. Then why hadn't he said something to her before they made love? The fact that he had birth control supplies on hand told her he wasn't the kind of man who assumed contraception was up to the woman. Had she said or done something that made him think she had taken care of the birth control issue? And now that she knew there was a problem, what should she do? They'd first made love on Friday night; it was now Wednesday, that was too long to expect emergency contraception to be effective. She sat on the edge of the bed lost in thought until she heard the front door open. 

"Hi baby, I'm home," Lennie called out as he entered the apartment, throwing the money pouch Jack had given him onto the coffee table. 

Anita wasn't sure what to do. Should she say something now? Should she be confrontational about it? No, she wouldn't assume he'd done this on purpose. She didn't realize it had taken her so long to think of what to say or do until she realized Lennie was in the bedroom. 

"Baby, didn't you hear me?" Lennie said as he entered the bedroom. He saw that the nightstand drawer was open and Anita held in her hands the box of condoms he kept in there and the spermicidal foam that a past girlfriend had insisted on using in addition to a condom. 

Anita finally came out of her reverie. "Lennie why haven't we been using these?" she asked simply with no hint of reproach in her voice. 

Lennie was suddenly just as shocked as Anita had been earlier. He had assumed that since she hadn't said anything about contraception before they made love the first time that it was probably not an issue, that she'd either had a tubal ligation after her boys were born or was on the pill. 

"I didn't realize we needed to," he said a little bit shakily. "I thought since you didn't say anything the first time we made love that birth control wasn't an issue," he added. 

"Oh God, I made the same assumption," she admitted. 

"Why would you do that?" Lennie asked slightly confused. 

"Well, I figured since you didn't ask that you probably had had a vasectomy," Anita answered. 

"I probably should have but could never convince myself to do it," Lennie admitted. 

He moved her slacks aside and sat next to her on the bed and took her into his arms. 

"How 'exposed' are we?" he asked hoping she'd understand what he meant. 

"Fairly significantly, given where I am in my cycle," she answered shakily. 

Lennie didn't know what to say. His feelings were so jumbled. Part of him wanted Anita to be pregnant with his child and another part, probably the more rational part was pointing out all the pitfalls of having a child later in life. God, if they had a child now he'd be in his mid seventies when the kid was in high school. And there were the increased risks of a child having Down Syndrome or of serious complications for the mother. 

"Lennie, please say something," Anita said sounding a bit shaky. 

"I'm sorry baby, I was just thinking," he replied. 

"Thinking what?" she asked. 

"My feelings are so mixed up. A part of me wants you to be pregnant. Wants you to have my baby. But that's just, I don't know," Lennie said, he got up from the bed, took a few steps away from her and then continued, "wishful thinking. Wishing we had met a long time ago, that we were young and had a lifetime in front of us. Wishing this was me being given a second chance to get being a father right," he said and then came back to Anita kneeling on the floor and putting his arms around her, resting his head against her belly. 

"Then there's the rational part of me that says it would be irresponsible of me to father a child at my age. Who do I think I am, David Letterman?" he said with a bitter laugh. 

Anita stroked his hair and caressed his shoulders. 

"Lennie, I have the same feelings," she told him. 

He looked up at her and then got up onto the bed again, and held her. He rocked her back and forth a bit and then turned her face up to his and kissed her gently. 

"What do you want to do?" he asked softly. 

"I don't know. I guess there's not much to do until we know one way or the other," she said. 

"How long will that be?" he asked. 

"If I'm not pregnant, my period should come in about two weeks. I can get one of those early pregnancy tests if I'm late, " she answered. 

"And if you are pregnant, do you want to have the baby?" Lennie asked, feeling his heart ache for a baby they didn't even know for sure existed. 

"Would you want me not to?" she asked trying to keep her voice neutral. 

"I know the politically correct thing to say is that it's your decision because it's your body, but I don't know if I could stay with you if you had an abortion," Lennie answered honestly. 

"I'm glad you feel that way because I could never kill an unborn child," she told him. 

They held each other for a while longer, then Anita asked him to call Bobby Garcia and cancel the dinner plans. He made the call and Bobby asked if they'd had a fight. Lennie said no but that they needed to spend some time talking. Bobby said he understood and hoped they could get together another time. 

They spent the evening talking about their feelings and their thoughts. They both agreed that they wanted a child and yet knew it wasn't a good idea. They even laughed about the idea of keeping their relationship secret through a pregnancy, each of them coming up with bizarre scenarios of how they would do it. They finally agreed that if she wasn't already pregnant then they needed to do something to make sure she didn't get pregnant in the future. Lennie reluctantly offered that he would get a vasectomy. He kept it to himself that he intended to wait until he was sure whether she was pregnant or not before he did so, the prospect of the operation made him uneasy. 

They got ready for bed, and for the first time since they'd become a couple, they didn't make love before going to sleep but simply held each other. 

In the morning Anita again got ready to go jogging. 

"Hey, sleepyhead, are you going to go jogging with me or not?' she asked him as she jostled the bed. 

"Oh, are you gonna go jogging?" he asked a little surprised. 

"Yes, why shouldn't I?" she asked. 

"Uh, no reason I guess," Lennie said as he began trying to find his jogging things too. Realizing he'd been about to make some stupid chauvinistic comment regarding her possible pregnancy, he didn't say anything else. 

"You think that I shouldn't exercise just in case I might be pregnant?" Anita asked. 

"Nope, " Lennie said hoping she'd let him off the hook pretty soon. 

Anita sighed and decided she'd chalk his earlier question up to sleepiness and over-protectiveness. 

* * *

As they jogged around the track at the neighborhood park Lennie saw a black man keeping an eye on them. The man moved towards them as they began to slow down to a walk to cool down. Lennie felt an aura of disapproval emanating from him. 

"What's a matter sister, a black man not good enough for you?" the man called out derisively. 

Lennie started for the guy and Anita pulled him back. 

"Ignore him," she said. "This is just something all interracial couples have to deal with occasionally, don't let it bother you," she told him. 

* * *

Lennie tried to shrug it off but it did bother him a bit. After his shower, while he was getting dressed for work, he asked her, "Did you mention to your Mom or sister that I'm white?" 

"No. Did you mention to your daughter that I'm black?" she asked in return. 

"No, it never dawned on me to tell her," he answered. 

"Same here," she replied. 

"Guess I'll find out how open minded my daughter is this weekend," he commented. 

* * *

Lennie found he was becoming nervous realizing he was about to talk to Emil Skoda. He sort of wanted to sound Skoda out about his relationship with Anita but he was afraid to for fear it would get out. He dropped by the bank and deposited his winnings and then headed to Skoda's office. 

"Good Morning Detective Briscoe," Skoda said and reached out to shake his hand, then motioned to Lennie to sit down. 

"Having looked at your record I see you're familiar with this procedure," he began. 

"Yeah, it's not the first time I've had to fire in the line of duty," Lennie said. 

"But it is the first time you've been responsible for another human being's death. How is that sitting with you?" he asked. 

"To tell you the truth, I hadn't really given it too much thought," Lennie said. "I guess to me that guy wasn't very real. He was just a walking danger. If I hadn't shot him he would have shot me or Anita. I couldn't let that happen," Lennie said. 

Skoda had had a feeling Lennie wasn't going to be too shaken up over the guy he'd had to kill. Lennie just didn't have the kind of emotional makeup that would make him feel guilty in that sort of situation and he had too much else on his emotional plate at the moment. Emil realized that talking about his relationship with Anita would probably be much more beneficial than a standard officer involved shooting psychological evaluation, but he wondered if he could get Lennie to open up about it. 

"So how is Anita, you two doing OK?" Skoda asked and watched the look of alarm on Lennie's face appear. 

"Don't worry, I won't let anything get in the record that could expose your relationship, I'm just wondering how you're doing that's all," Emil reassured Lennie. 

"We're OK," Lennie answered not sounded convincing. 

"Just OK?" Emil asked, trying to get Lennie to open up. 

Reluctantly Lennie opened up to Emil. He told him about their concerns about keeping things discreet while trying to give Stefan time with his Mom and he told Emil about the incident at the park that morning. Finally he opened up about the possibility of Anita being pregnant. Emil knew enough of Lennie's background to know that that had to be pushing all kinds of buttons for the guy. 

"How do you feel about that?" Emil asked the classic question. 

"What's the word you shrinks use? Conflicted?" Lennie answered. 

"How so?" Skoda asked. 

"You know you could save your voice by having some of those standard questions on cue cards," Lennie said. 

"Your sense of humor is a great defense mechanism, Lennie. It tells me that we're getting close to some things that are pretty important to you," Skoda observed. "So back to the question, you said you felt conflicted about the possibility that Anita might be pregnant. How so?" Skoda pressed. 

Lennie sighed and then finally started explaining his feelings; how he wanted her to be pregnant and yet knew that that wasn't really a rational thing to want. As much as Lennie was revealing, Emil knew there was a little something extra. He wondered if he should push Lennie, especially as their time was running out and he seriously doubted he could get the man to come see him for a follow up, let alone go to see a private therapist. Well, in for a penny, in for a pound, he thought. 

"And of course this baby could be a replacement for you daughter Cathy, couldn't it?" Emil asked wondering if Lennie would explode or implode. 

"No, no, Cathy can't be replaced. She can't be. I wasn't thinking that, I wasn't." Lennie said in a broken voice. 

Emil got up and knelt by Lennie. "Hey Lennie, man I'm sorry I had to push you so hard, but you got look at all your motivations for wanting this baby, because either way, whether she is or isn't pregnant, you're gonna be on an emotional roller coaster for awhile and you need to know what sort of dips and loops to expect, OK?" 

Lennie drug his right hand across his eyes. "I don't know whether to thank you or bust you in the chops," he said. 

"Well, if you're in a grateful mood you could thank me by talking some more about this with someone you trust, maybe your AA sponsor," Emil suggested. 

"I'll think about that," Lennie said leadenly. 

"What are you gonna say in the eval?" Lennie asked a bit worried. 

"Well, don't worry, nothing that will sound out of place or keep you from doing the job you do so well," Emil promised. 

"Why don't you go splash some water on your face before you head back to the 2-7?" He suggested and Lennie nodded. 

As he left Skoda's office and found his way to a men's wash room he wished he had a computer class lined up for this morning. The thought of going back to the 2-7 when his emotions were so raw wasn't pleasant. He didn't know if he could keep his feelings off his face but he'd have to try. 

* * *

When Lennie came in the squad room everyone who saw him knew something was wrong. He went to his desk and dug into the ever-dwindling stack of paperwork. People walked by him and looked into Anita's office as if to ask why she wasn't doing something for him. Finally, she knew she had to call him in or raise suspicions. 

"Detective Briscoe, could I have a minute of your time," Anita asked as she stood at the entrance to her office. 

"Of course," he answered and joined her in her office. 

"Are you OK?" she asked gently. 

"No, not really, but I can't get into it with you right now because it's not professional, it's personal," he answered trying not to give into his need to be held by Anita. 

Anita had to respect what Lennie was saying, but she wanted to do something to help him make it through the rest of the day. 

"Then we'll talk when we get home this evening. I wish I could do something to help now though," she said. 

He looked to see if anyone was looking into her office, he didn't see anyone who seemed to be watching them, so he took a chance and reached out for her hand for a moment. 

"For just a second could you be my lover and give me a smile?" he asked. 

She smiled shyly at him and said, "Yes, just for a second". 

He released her hand and turned to leave. "It worked, I feel a lot better," he said as turned back before opening the door. 

"Thank you, lieutenant," he said for the benefit of those in the squad room as he exited her office. 

He spent most of the afternoon in an IT class and he actually managed to shove the conflicting emotions aside to concentrate on conquering Microsoft Office. 

* * *

They spent the evening talking about his visit with Emil Skoda and all the feelings that had been stirred up. She learned that she hadn't even seen the tip of the iceberg when it came to Lennie's pain over his daughter Cathy. He opened up about how she had been Daddy's little girl and the only reason he'd even considered trying to make a go of his first marriage after Gloria had cheated on him. To have her love for him sour was the most hurtful part of his life and to lose her, devastation he'd never really been able to cope with. He'd survived her death by burying it, pretending the wound was healed but now the prospect of having another child was unearthing the wound. 

Lennie's upbringing told him 'guys don't cry', but he cried and Anita held him. When he was all cried out, she loved him tenderly and he thought his heart would break from being so full of love for her. He slept fitfully, alternately dreaming of Cathy as the little girl who adored her Daddy, Cathy as the grown woman who resented him and Anita as the mother of his baby. 


	7. Ch 7 Family Approval Pt1

**Ch 7 Seeking Approval**

When Lennie woke, he was still somewhat fragile emotionally and wanted to just hold Anita for a while. She was quite willing to oblige him. Eventually he was able to let her go, and begin preparing for the day, but he was quiet. 

"Are you gonna be OK, honey?" Anita asked as they finished breakfast. 

"Yeah, I think I'm getting past it. And hey it's Friday, this evening we'll be up in Albany with Julia and Brian and the boys," Lennie said sounding more upbeat. 

"You sure you want to drive that tonight?" she asked as she started putting things away. 

"Yeah, traffic's gonna be a killer no matter whether we go this evening or tomorrow morning, and I'd just as soon have the extra time with them," he answered. "What's a matter getting cold feet about going to see my family?" he asked in a teasing voice as he put his plate and silverware in the sink. 

"Maybe I am," she answered as she started toward the sink with her plate and silverware. 

"Well don't be, they're gonna love ya," he said as he pulled her into an embrace that knocked her off-balance as she tried to avoid putting her plate into either of their shirts. 

"Lennie, behave! Otherwise we'll never get to work on time," she said through her laughter. 

"Oh yeah, I mustn't be late. I mean, everyone knows my boss is a real bitch," he said with a twinkle in his eye. 

"Ooh, you just watch your step mister or I'll show you bitch!" she teased back, glad to see his playful nature come back. 

"OK, OK, I know when I'm beat, besides if we don't get out of here quick I'll be late to my email class," Lennie said sarcastically. 

* * *

Lennie did indeed spend part of the morning in an email class. He managed to empty his mailbox of all the mail he'd never looked at over the years and had learned to compose a message and send attachments. He actually caught on so quickly that he spent part of the class time composing an email to his sweetheart that he thought was cryptic enough to send. He hoped she would read between the lines and be amused by his suggestions. 

* * *

_**From: briscol@nypd.gov **_

To: vanburea@nypd.gov 

Subject: Disciplinary action re: Det. L. Briscoe 

Anita, 

As I've almost finished all the squad's backed up paper work and will certainly have it finished by this pm, I think it's time to consider alternate actions. I realize I did do some things Saturday night that were out of line but I also thought there were a few things I did that were appreciated. Perhaps we could have a private conference to discuss options. I was thinking perhaps there was some special assignment I might help you with. 

Yours, 

Lennie 

* * *

When Lennie arrived back in the squad room, Anita gave him an amused smirk that told him she had received his email and taken it as he intended. 

"Detective Briscoe, I'd like to discuss the email I received from you, how about we do so over an early lunch?" she suggested. 

"Yes, ma'am," Lennie said and grabbed his suit coat. 

* * *

They grabbed a car from the pool so they could get a little farther from the precinct for lunch. 

"Well, I guess I must have said something right in that email," Lennie quipped, as he maneuvered through traffic toward their agreed upon destination, a distant restaurant not likely to be frequented by their squad members. 

"Well, actually I wanted to tell you about a conversation I had with Don regarding the divorce," Anita answered. "Although your email was cute and we may have time to discuss some of it," she added. 

"OK, so what's up?" Lennie asked as he hunted for a likely parking spot. 

"Well, we may have a timing problem," she answered. 

"What do you mean?" he asked as he parked the car. 

"Well, the attorney says that Don and I can get a legal separation and then after a year a conversion to a divorce, but that neither of us have grounds for a divorce at this time," she told Lennie. 

"Huh?" Lennie said, confused. 

As they walked into the restaurant, Anita gave Lennie a funny look. "I'd have thought a guy who was divorced twice would maybe know this stuff," she answered. They suspended their conversation while the hostess found them a booth. 

"Well, Gloria and I were legally separated and then did the conversion thing and Lorna had me dead to rights on numerous affairs. So it was pretty easy for her to sue on the grounds of adultery," Lennie answered. "Couldn't either of you sue on grounds of adultery?" he suggested. 

"No, for a couple of reasons, if Don sued for divorce on the grounds of adultery he'd have to name you as the correspondent and that would open up a whole can of worms," she said looking meaningfully at him, "besides because we're both guilty of having affairs the lawyer said that brings in something called recrimination and that voids adultery as the grounds for divorce," she answered. 

"So do you know about other alternatives?" Lennie asked, knowing there was no way they could wait a year for a divorce if Anita was pregnant. 

"Yes, I can get a fast divorce in the Dominican Republic," Anita answered. "As long as Don and I have everything agreed to between the two of us, I can fly down to Santo Domingo, appear before a judge for about 5 minutes and then have the final decree in 15 business days. I'll talk to Don when we get back from Albany," Anita answered. 

"That sounds like the best way to go, especially if you are pregnant," Lennie said lowering his voice on the last phrase as he noticed their server approaching. 

They ordered the special and a couple of diet sodas as neither of them had taken a glimpse at the menu. 

"Hope the special is something remotely edible," Anita said, and then a moment later added, "For me that is, I'm sure you'll have no trouble with it," she joked. 

"Hey, in the past having a cast iron stomach came in handy. I'm not a great cook and unlike you, neither of my exs would win any cooking prizes," he replied. 

"Did you just say I'm a good cook?" Anita asked. 

"I think I did, " Lennie said and smiled. He then reached out to take her hand but suddenly stopped as he looked past her to the entrance of the restaurant. 

"Something wrong?" Anita asked. 

"You'll never believe who just walked in" Lennie said. 

Before Anita could ask whom, Rey Curtis's long strides ate up the distance from the restaurant's entrance to their booth. 

"Hey Lennie, LT what are you doing here?" Rey asked. 

"Same thing you are I suppose," Lennie answered, he then moved over to make room for Rey. They called their server over and added another special and an ice tea to their order. 

Rey asked them about the undercover operation he'd heard about and they filled him in on the details. He interrupted to ask Lennie about his winnings for shooting pool, remembering the time Lennie had taken $500 off of John Munch. Lennie explained about the arrangements he'd made with Jack McCoy to make sure it was OK for him to keep the money, but said he'd rather not mention the amount he'd won in a public place, which made Rey assume it was quite a bit of money. Just as their lunches, 3 cups of clam chowder and baskets of fish and chips, arrived Lennie finished explaining the trouble he'd gotten into at the conclusion of the operation and his punishment for it. 

"Oh, and you're so eaten up over the discipline she put on you that you figured if you took her out for a nice lunch she might let up on you," Rey teased. He found his detective senses were on full alert, he knew something was up, he just wasn't sure what. 

"Well as much as I hate the extra paperwork, the computer classes haven't been that bad. I might surprise you and send you an email," Lennie retorted. 

Rey gave him a look of disbelief as he bit into some of his lunch. 

"He's not kidding. We're here because he sent me an email to let me know he's almost through all the backed up paperwork, so I have to come up with something else for him to do next week," Anita told Rey. 

"Well, will wonders never cease?" Rey teased. "You know, it does seem like a shame that you're serving a punishment for getting on Michaels' case. I mean, I remember him from when I worked in OCCB. He was a walking, talking example of the Peter Principle if ever I saw one," Rey observed. 

"What's the Peter Principle?" Anita asked, her curiousity peaked. 

"That the higher up you go in an administration the more incompetent people you find," Rey answered. 

"No that's not quite right, it's that they promote competent people up until they end up in a job they aren't competent for, and then they stay in that job because it's hard to demote people," Lennie corrected. When he felt Anita staring at him he looked at her and added, "I think I'll just shut up now and eat my lunch". 

Anita and Rey laughed at him. 

"So, if that's how it works, does that mean you're not competent to do detective work?" Anita teased. 

"No, I explained that to you before, being a detective was just the first thing I discovered that I was good at, that I enjoyed doing, and that was also legal to accept money for doing," Lennie said with a smile, thinking back to their dinner at Tony's. Rey spluttered some of his ice tea. 

"Lennie!" he scolded. 

"What?" Lennie asked as though he had no idea what Rey was on about. 

"I think Lennie is referring to his skill with a pool cue," Anita offered. 

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure about that with Lennie," Rey replied. 

"Well, now that you mention it," Lennie began. 

"I didn't," Rey said. "Why does this remind me of Baltimore?" 

"Hey, that was Munch's fault, not mine," Lennie reminded Rey. 

Rey cast around for a way to change the subject and noticed that Anita's ring finger was bare. 

"Hey LT where's your wedding ring? Did you forget it somewhere?" Rey asked. 

"No, I haven't been wearing it for a while. Don and I are getting divorced so I don't see a reason to wear it" Anita answered. 

"I'm sorry to hear that," Rey said sincerely. 

"Well, don't be. Our marriage has been over for many years. We continued to live together for the sake of our boys until Stefan told us to stop being hypocrites," she responded. 

Rey was beginning to add up clues, Van Buren was getting a divorce, she and Lennie were eating lunch together a long way from the 27th precinct and they'd recently had to pretend to be romantically involved on an undercover operation. He wondered if they were now involved for real. He wasn't sure he wanted to know for sure as he liked and respected them both. He was asking himself whether he'd respect them or like them less if he learned that they were involved, despite department policies and despite the fact that Anita had said she was getting divorced not that she was divorced, when he realized he'd miss a question from Lennie about something. 

"Sorry man, what was that?" Rey asked. 

"I asked how Deborah and the girls are doing?" Lennie asked again, somewhat amused and yet at the same time a little alarmed. He'd seen that sort of distraction from Rey before and it usually meant he was about to put some clues together. 

"The girls are great, although when I tell them I saw Uncle Lennie today, they're probably going to start whining about how he never drops by anymore," Rey replied. 

"You tell them Uncle Lennie is just waiting for an invite," Lennie replied. 

"And what about Deborah?" Anita asked. 

"Well, with her MS its always sort of two steps forward and three steps back but the doctors have her on some new medications that seem to be helping," he replied. 

They continued to visit for a little while and as Lennie felt more and more like Rey was "on to them" he searched for a way to divert Rey's attention. 

"So have you thought of what my punishment is going to be next week?" Lennie asked Anita. 

"Well, since I still have to keep you on desk duty, I thought I could have you pull the cold case files and look through them to see if there've been any new developments," Anita suggested. 

"Oh Anita," Lennie groaned, "and here I thought you liked me". 

"I do," Anita said and ran her foot along Lennie's leg beneath the table, thoroughly shocking him. 

Rey wasn't certain what was going on between the two of them and he realized he didn't have the time to stop and find out either, as his lunch break was nearly over. 

"Well, folks this has been," Rey paused looking for an appropriate word, "entertaining, but I've got to get back to my little cubicle in Admin," he said as he uncurled his long frame and began fishing for his wallet. 

"No, hey man, it's on me," Lennie said, stopping his former partner from paying. 

"OK, but my treat next time and I'll call you soon to arrange for you to come see the girls and Deborah," Rey promised and Lennie nodded. 

Anita waited while Lennie paid the check. 

"Hey, what was that with playing footsie back there? You trying to give me a heart attack?" Lennie asked as they walked to the car. 

"No, just fair warning that I can be playful too," she said as she got into the car. 

"God, I can't wait until we get on the road this evening," Lennie said. 

"Why's that?" Anita asked curiously. 

"You'll see," he promised with a smirk. 

* * *

Once they got back to the squad room, the afternoon crawled by, but Lennie did manage to finish the last of the backed up reports. They headed off to the subway and made their way back to Lennie's apartment together, neither of them really caring if anyone saw them leaving together. 

"Lennie, what should I pack?" Anita asked almost plaintively. 

"I don't know, just something casual. You're just going to meet my daughter and her husband and sons, it's nothing fancy," Lennie answered, amused that Anita seemed a bit unnerved. 

Anita decided she'd just have to throw a little bit of everything in her suitcase; several blouses, a couple of pair of slacks and a skirt, bras and panties, a slip, a night gown and robe and several different pair of shoes, some jewelry, and make up. She wouldn't probably need it all but at least she'd be prepared for anything. 

When she saw his suitcase and hers side by side she asked, "Is that all you're taking?" 

"Yes baby, that's all I'm taking. Come on let's get started. Oh grab some CDs and a couple of drinks would you?" he asked just as the phone rang. 

"Hello," he answered. 

"Hey angel, we were just about to head out the door," he said. 

"One room will be fine," he answered. 

"OK, see you, probably about 9 or 9:30. We'll eat somewhere between here and there, so don't go to any trouble," he told her. 

"Hey, I'm a cop I always drive safely," he said, crossing his fingers and grinning at Anita. 

"Love you," he said just before he hung up the phone. 

Lennie picked up Anita's suitcase and his smaller one, and then grabbed his leather jacket and car keys. Anita came out of the kitchen with a small cooler, and then headed for the audio storage rack to pull a few CDs out. 

"You ready, baby?" he asked. 

"As ready as I'm gonna get, I guess," she answered as she grabbed Julia's white shawl from the hall closet so she could return it. 

"Then away we go," Lennie said doing his best Jackie Gleason impression. 

* * *

Lennie left the radio on a station that gave frequent traffic updates until he was well out of the city, once he hit the I-87 toll way he asked Anita to put a CD on to listen to and they began a comfortable conversation. They talked about their lunch with Rey, each admitted to feeling wrong about leaving him in the dark about their relationship and yet knowing he was the one colleague/friend who might disapprove of them. Lennie felt they should try to talk to him after Anita was officially divorced. Finally, Anita felt it appropriate to ask Lennie some questions about his daughter and her family. 

"So how long has Julia lived in Albany?" she asked. 

"Since she and Brian married, about 3 years ago," he replied. 

"Three years and they've already got two kids?" she asked. 

"Uh no, Julia's youngest son is Brian's. Her older boy Jake, well," Lennie paused for a moment. "She had Jake back when she was a teenager. I guess just another one of those things you can chalk up to my being such a lousy Dad," he said with a sigh. Anita didn't respond but she hated how he never seemed to miss a chance to knock himself. 

"She went through a rather rebellious phase in her teen years, always running away, doing the exact opposite of whatever Gloria wanted her to do," he added by way of explanation. 

"Where did she run away to?" Anita asked. 

"She always ended up at my place, until she got it through her head that I'd eventually have to take her back to her mother because of the custody agreement," Lennie answered. 

"If she wanted to be with you, why didn't you try to get the custody agreement modified?" Anita asked. 

"Her running away started about 12 years ago, when I was just getting my act together. I had a reputation as a skirt chasing drunk, what judge in his right mind was gonna give me custody of a teenage girl?" Lennie asked. "Besides I thought she was safer with her mother. Little did I know that some High School Casanova would get her pregnant," Lennie answered. 

"So she had the baby and raised him herself?" Anita asked. 

"Yeah, Gloria helped her until she was out of high school and so did I, at least financially. Before Julia finished high school she looked around for a college that had affordable housing that would accept single parents and that had excellent childcare. She graduated summa cum laude in Journalism while doing a great job with Jake. Then just after she finished college she met Brian," he answered. 

"How did she meet him?" Anita asked. 

"She was doing some reporting for a small trade magazine that focused on Architecture and Engineering. Brian was in New York to supervise the construction of a building his firm had designed. Brian is a structural engineer with a design and build company that is headquartered in Albany," Lennie replied. 

"Are you getting hungry?" he asked her as he saw a roadside sign indicating there was a Travel Plaza a few miles a head. 

"Yes, actually I am," she said rather strongly. 

* * *

The Travel Plaza turned out to have a variety of fast foods. Anita was a bit surprised that Lennie steered them past the Nathan's hot dogs, and on to some marginally healthier choices including frozen yogurt from TCBY, until she realized he was thinking about the baby she might be carrying. The thought touched her and she got a bit misty eyed. 

"Baby, you OK?" Lennie asked. 

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just love you a whole bunch," she said and hugged him tightly. 

He kissed the top of her head and held her for a few moments and then said, "Come on let's go". 

* * *

When they got back in the car he didn't immediately start the engine, but just turned the key enough to make the CD start up again, and then he turned to Anita and began kissing her. Anita had no objections to Lennie's amorous advances and realized this was probably what he had meant when he said he couldn't wait to get on the road. He'd been wanting to 'neck' with her in his car. Sometimes he was positively cute, not that she'd tell him that, guys usually didn't react too well to being told they were cute. 

Just as Lennie was reaching his hands up under her blouse there was a rap on the window and a light shown into the car. Anita could not believe it, a New York State trooper was about to give them a lecture about their behavior. Lennie powered down the window so they could hear the trooper. 

"Uh folks, don't you think you could find a better place for that sort of thing?" the trooper asked when he realized the couple in question wasn't teenaged. 

"Uh yeah, just reliving our youth a bit trooper, sorry about that," Lennie said a bit embarrassed. 

"OK, no problem," the trooper said with a laugh as he continued on into the travel plaza. 

"I'm now officially embarrassed," Lennie announced. 

"Well, in my opinion it was worth it," Anita said with a grin which he returned. 

* * *

Lennie turned the car's engine over and headed back for the toll way. They listened to the CDs they'd brought along and talked more. About an hour later they paid the toll at the Albany exit and Lennie began the short journey out into an upscale residential area, eventually turning into the driveway of a large new craftsman inspired home. As Lennie and Anita got out of the car, a dark haired boy about 8 years old burst out of the home's front door and made a beeline for Lennie. 

"Grandpa! Grandpa!" the boy yelled as he launched himself into Lennie's arms. 

"There's my little chip! Oh, you're getting too big for this kind of a welcome," Lennie said as he peeled the boy's arms from around his neck and put the boy down on his own feet. 

Anita saw a handsome auburn haired man who looked to be about 30 coming out of the house towards them. She assumed he was Lennie's son-in-law Brian. An attractive woman with dark blonde hair in her mid 20s stood in the doorway of the home, she just had to be Julia. The man reached out his hand for Lennie's. 

"Hey Lennie, let me and Jake help with the bags," Brian said, as the two men and the young boy headed for the trunk of the car. 

"Anita, please come on in. Let's let the guys deal with the luggage," Julia offered. 

"Alright," Anita said as she handed Julia her shawl. 

"Oh, thanks for bringing this back to me," Julia said as she took the shawl from Anita and placed it on a peg in the hallway. 

Lennie let his son-in-law take Anita's bag and his grandson take his. He used his long legs to eat up the distance to the front door before the women could get very far inside the house. 

"Hey angel, you got a hug for your old man?" Lennie asked his daughter. 

"I sure do, Daddy," Julia said with a broad smile as she hugged her father tightly. 

"Come on, let's go to the kitchen. I've got apple pie and ice cream. And before you ask Daddy, I didn't bake it. I got it at the bakery," she added quickly. 

"OK, we're safe then," he teased. 

Soon Brian and Jake joined them in the kitchen and every one enjoyed pie alamode as Lennie's family got to know Anita. Anita looked closely at Jake and realized why Lennie called the boy little chip. Jake had his grandfather's sleepy looking deep blue eyes under heavy eyebrows and he also had the same angular face and dark hair as his grandfather, Jake was indeed a chip off the old block. 

Julia watched her father watch the striking woman he had brought with him, and she saw something that was usually quite rare; she saw his smile reach his eyes. Her father had a charming smile and an infectious laugh but it was rare that he was truly happy and when he was, you could see it in his eyes. The fact that this woman made him that happy was enough for Julia. Her father had not really had that much happiness in his life and she thought it was high time he did. Julia's musings were interrupted by a yawn from her son. 

"Sounds like we're keeping someone up past his bedtime," Anita suggested. 

"I'm not that tired, 'sides it's the weekend. I don't have to go to school tomorrow," Jake argued. 

"No, but you do have a soccer game," Brian countered. 

"That's not 'til 10, Dad," Jake said. 

"Look Jake, I'll make you a deal you stop arguing the point like some lawyers I know and I'll come in and tell you a bedtime story," Lennie offered. 

"One of Babka's stories?" Jake asked enthusiastically. 

"Sure, now go on, I'll be in a few minutes," Lennie said and as Jake headed down the hallway he added, "And don't forget to brush your teeth". 

"Babka?" Anita asked. 

"That's what we called great grandma," Julie explained. 

"Babka is Polish for grandmother," Lennie added. 

"Your grandmother was Polish?" Anita asked. 

"And my grandfather too," Lennie added. 

"That makes you half Polish?" Anita asked. 

"Yes, is that a problem?" Lennie asked with a grin. 

"No, but I do understand why you've never mentioned it around the squad room," Anita replied with a grin of her own. 

"Grandpa, aren't you gonna come tell me a story?" Jake called out. 

"Be there in a second, Jake," Lennie answered. He then stood up and leaned over to kiss Anita. "Be back in a few minutes, baby," he said to her. "Don't tell her too many horror stories about me while I'm gone, OK?" he asked of Julie and Brian before he left the room. 

"I'm gonna go check on Sean," Brian said as he too headed down the hallway towards the children's bedrooms. 

"I think that was Brian's not so subtle way of leaving us alone," Julia told Anita, 

"You think?" Anita said with a laugh as she started carrying dishes from the kitchen table to the sink. 

"Hey, you're a guest your not suppose to do that," Julia said in an amused tone as she also brought dishes to the sink. 

"Oh, force of habit I suppose. I'm sort of use to men folk that get up from the table as though they were at a diner," Anita explained. 

"Well, hopefully Dad's not treating you that way, is he?" Julia asked. 

"No, you're Dad is wonderful about helping me with anything and everything," Anita replied. 

"Good, I'd expect him to treat you very well," Julia said very positively. 

"Oh, why's that?" Anita asked truly curious. 

"Because I can tell how happy you make him. Dad's no dummy, he knows when he's found something good and I hope he knows how to keep it," she answered. 

"What makes you think I make him happy?" Anita asked. 

"Daddy laughs and smiles a lot but it doesn't always reach his eyes. Tonight every smile, every laugh was there in his eyes too. And I squeezed his shoulder tonight and I couldn't believe how relaxed he was. Usually Daddy's shoulders are so tensed up it feels like he's got steel cables tied in knots instead of muscles," Julia explained. "And then of course there's the fact that he calls you Baby instead of Anita," she added. 

"And that's significant because?" Anita asked. 

"I don't know why Daddy does it but when he really cares about someone, he usually calls them by a nickname. Cathy was pumpkin and I'm angel and Jake is little chip," Julia paused for a second and then laughed. "I remember after Brian and I had been married about 6 months, he came in excited one day and said 'your Dad called me kiddo, I think that means he likes me!'" she laughed. 

"Funny, Ed Green, Lennie's partner, occasionally calls him by a nickname but Lennie doesn't like it," Anita said around a big grin. 

"What's the nickname?" Julia asked. 

"Old Spice," Anita answered. 

"Well, see there's the problem right there, that Old part," Julia responded. Both women shared a laugh. 

"I noticed he doesn't seem to object to you calling him honey," Julia observed. 

"No, he doesn't seem to," Anita admitted shyly. 

"So, this is about the place in such a conversation where I'd ask how did you and Dad meet, but given the circumstances that's not an appropriate question now is it?" before Anita could answer Brian returned. 

"What's not an appropriate question?" Brian asked as he resumed his seat at he kitchen table. 

"How Dad and Anita met, after all they've worked together for a long time," Julia answered. 

"Well, then maybe a better question would be when did you fall for each other or maybe it's how or why?" Brian asked a bit uncertainly. 

"Well, I can't speak for Lennie but I was attracted to him immediately, which was a bit of a problem for me as a married woman and his boss, but it didn't get bad until we were on a stakeout and he quoted Langston Hughes' poem Motto to me. From then on I had to fight the attraction and he never seemed to make that easy," Anita admitted. 

"How long ago was that stakeout?" Julia asked. 

Anita blushed. "About eight years ago," she answered. 

"Wow, well you held him off a lot longer than any of the other women in his life have, maybe that's a good sign," Julia suggested. 

"I hope so, " Anita said softly and Julia internal cursed herself, she shouldn't have mentioned the other women in her Dad's life. Obviously Anita was a bit insecure about her relationship with her Dad and she didn't need to be reminded of how many women had been in and out of his life. 

"So what finally made you give in to your feelings?" Brian asked, a bit curious about how his father-in-law had finally landed this lovely lady. 

Anita smiled as she remembered. "He kissed me," Anita answered. 

"Wow, that's kind of forward of him," Brian observed. 

"Well, not really," Lennie said in his own defense as he returned to the kitchen. 

"Oh, and how does kissing your not-quite-yet divorced boss come under the heading of not really being forward?" Julia challenged her Dad. 

"When it's a part of your cover in an undercover operation," Lennie countered. 

Lennie and Anita took turns in explaining the undercover operation that had brought them together. 

"So the first time you kissed, you had to do it in front of an audience, on videotape and pretend it wasn't the first time?" Julia asked her Dad and Anita incredulously. They both nodded. 

"If she hadn't been trembling too, I don't know what I would have done," Lennie admitted as he gave Anita a tender look. 

"Oh Dad," Julia said with a tiny laugh and then reached for his hand and Anita's. "That's so," she paused as she sought the right word, "romantic," she sighed. 

Julia couldn't believe how embarrassed her Dad looked and she just knew he'd change the subject soon, but instead Brian rescued his father-in-law. 

"How about we all turn in early and then maybe you and I can get up and go out and get in 9 holes of golf before Jake's soccer match," Brian suggested. 

Lennie looked at his son-in-law with a mixture of relief and gratitude. "That's a great idea Brian. Let's do just that," Lennie said enthusiastically. 

The two couples rose and said their goodnights, the men agreeing upon a time to leave for the golf course and then Lennie insisted on peeking in on his younger grandson. 

* * *

"I like Julia and Brian," Anita said as she began to get undressed for bed. 

"And I'm sure they like you too," Lennie assured her as he pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her from behind, then nuzzling her neck. As his kisses and caresses became more ardent, she pushed away from him and turned to look at him. 

"Lennie, we can't, not here," she said. 

"Why not?" Lennie asked. 

"They'll hear us," she answered with a smile. 

"First of all, this room is the furthest from theirs, second I think they'd understand if they did hear something and they'd do their best to ignore it, and finally, we'll just have to try to be quiet," he said with a small laugh. 

"Huh? I thought you liked it when I was noisy. What was it you said? Something about my being noisy let you know you were doing things right?" she teased. 

"Well, I'll just have to figure it out another way," Lennie said as he lowered her to the bed. 

* * *

Lennie heard the light knocking on the door and groggily tried to place where he was and what he was supposed to do next. As his senses cleared, he felt the warmth and softness of the woman he loved lying next to him. Finally, it dawned on him that the knocking was his son-in-law come to wake him to go golfing. He tried to get up without waking Anita, a task he had tried a few times in their short relationship and was yet to accomplish. 

"Brian?" he said as he approached the bedroom door. 

"Yeah, you ready to go?" Brian asked. 

"Uh, no. Give me 10 minutes?" Lennie asked. 

"No problem, I'll make us some coffee," came the reply. 

Lennie grabbed up some clothes and then crossed to the guest bathroom. He quickly showered and dressed and then returned to the bedroom to give Anita a kiss. He thought she was asleep, but as he leaned over to kiss her she reached up and pulled him down into a much more passionate kiss than he'd been contemplating. 

"Mm, you always make it so hard for me to leave you early in the morning," Lennie told her as he kissed her a few more times. 

"Go on, go have fun. I'm sure Julia and the boys and I can find something to keep us amused for a few hours while you guys go chase that little ball around the golf course," she said with a smile and then gave him another kiss. 

* * *

Anita decided to try and get a little more sleep but a short while after she heard Lennie and Brian leave, she heard the unmistakable sounds of a happy, almost two-year-old boy as he woke up. She got up and quickly showered and dressed so she could go see this precious little boy. 

"Good morning," Anita called as she came into the kitchen. Julia smiled at her as she went about getting Sean's breakfast out - orange juice and Cheerios. 

"What would you like for breakfast?" she asked. 

"Nothing fancy, in fact what Sean's having looks good to me," Anita said. 

"OK, but I could make you some eggs or something. I'm really not as bad a cook as Dad and Brian would lead you to believe," she assured Anita. 

"No, that's fine," Anita said distractedly. She and Sean were having a little let's be shy, no let's get to know each other session. 

"Mama, pretty lady?" Sean asked. Julia interpreted her son's question as a request for Anita's name, though she supposed it could also be an opinion, which seemed to match her Dad's, about Anita's beauty. 

"This is Anita. Anita came to visit with Grandpa," Julia informed her youngest son. 

"Grampa?" Sean asked excitedly. 

"Uh oh," Julia said as she gave Anita a look, "Grandpa is playing golf with Daddy, they'll be back in time to go to the soccer game," she informed Sean. 

Sean looked a bit troubled but Anita distracted him with questions about his breakfast and his toys and anything else she could think of. Julia was amazed at Anita's ease with Sean. 

Later, as Sean sat in the living room playing with his toys, Julia decided to comment on her rapport with her son. 

"Wow, you're great with Sean. He doesn't usually take to new people but he seems to really like you," Julia said with a note of surprise in her voice. 

"Well, I have two boys of my own, but it's been a long time since they were Sean's age. I'd forgotten how cute they are at this stage," Anita said wistfully. 

"Yeah, cute until he gets in a defiant mood. That red hair he inherited from his Dad isn't just for show," Julia countered. 

"You know it seems you got left out in your son's looks. I mean, Jake looks like Lennie and Sean looks like his Dad," Anita observed. 

"You noticed, huh? You know, I think when Jake was born, it finally put Daddy's doubts about my being his child to rest," Julia said almost absentmindedly. 

"You knew your Dad had doubts about whether he was really your father?" Anita asked very surprised to hear Julia say something about that. 

"Oh yeah, just one of the many things my Mom told me about my Dad to try and undermine our relationship," Julia stopped for a second, and then continued. "You know the stupidest thing is that Mom never seemed to realize that when she told me that, I was old enough to fill in the blanks and figure out that she'd cheated on Dad," she laughed but it wasn't a humorous kind of laugh. 

"It doesn't sound like you have the best of relationships with your Mom," Anita observed. 

"Don't get me wrong. I love both of my parents, but Mom made, no makes, it a lot harder to love her. All my life she's been trying to paint my Dad as the worst father in America and unfortunately Cathy bought her lies. I didn't, at least not most of the time," Julia said. 

"You know I don't think Cathy's the only who bought the lies. Your Dad thinks - well," Anita stopped in mid sentence, thinking she couldn't say what she wanted to say without revealing that she might be pregnant. 

"Something wrong Anita?" Julia asked. 

"Well, there's something I'd like to tell you, but it means I'd have to tell you something that no one knows about except your Dad," Anita said feeling awkward. 

"Hey, I'm good at keeping secrets," Julia said. 

"Well," Anita hesitated then decided to just say it and get it over with, "I might be pregnant". 

"Really?" Julia said animatedly. 

"Well, it's too early to know for sure, but we neglected to have a very important discussion before we made love the first time, and then for a while each of us assumed there was no reason to have that discussion, but there was," Anita said feeling her cheeks warm with embarrassment. 

"Hey, don't feel embarrassed. Remember I'm the one who had a baby in High School. I know a bit about forgetting to do the appropriate thing," Julia said in an attempt to ease Anita's discomfort. Anita heaved a big sigh and reached out to squeeze Julia's hand in thanks. 

"So what does Dad think of the situation?" Julia asked intrigued. 

"He's like me. He knows it's probably irresponsible of us to even think about having a baby at our ages, but like me, it's what he wants, deep down in his heart," Anita admitted. She was quiet for a while then continued, "But I worry too, because he said if we had a baby, he'd have another chance to get being a father right," Anita said. 

"Like he thinks he did it wrong with me and Cathy?" Julia said obviously upset. 

"Yeah, I guess so," Anita reluctantly replied. 

"God damn my mother! She did this to him, to Cathy, to me!" Julia said becoming agitated. 

"She was always telling us what a lousy father he was. Well, you know what?" Julia said, but she didn't pause long enough to let Anita say anything. "I know what lousy fathers are like. I had plenty of friends who had them. They had dads who disappeared after the divorce was final. Dads who never sent alimony checks or child support checks. My friends' dads didn't remember Birthdays," Julia said, ticking off ways her dad was different from the 'bad dads'. 

"Yeah, I know my father drank," Julia said, admitting her father's greatest fault. "But I know what started him drinking, my Mom and her cheating. And he drank because she was always keeping us girls from him and sabotaging his time with us. He was as a good a Dad as she let him be. I had friends whose dads beat them and their mothers. I doubt any of my friends had a mother who beat up on their dad simply because he came to take his kids to his home for Christmas," Julia said in a choked voice caught between anger and sorrow. 

Sean was picking up on his mother's distress. He didn't know why Mama was upset but he wanted to make it better, the two women were so wrapped up in the conversation that they didn't notice when he ran to his room and brought back his teddy bear, until he appeared at his Mama's side. 

"Here Mama," Sean said as he offered her his most precious possession, his teddy bear. 

"Oh Sean," Julia said as she picked up her boy and the teddy bear and hugged them both letting her tears fall freely. 

Just then a groggy Jake came into the living room. 

"Is something wrong? Is Sean hurt?" Jake asked Anita, obviously concerned. 

"No, Jake your Mom was just telling me about something that sort of upset her and Sean wanted to make her feel better, so he offered her his teddy bear," Anita explained. 

Jake scooted onto the couch between the two women and added his hug to his little brother's. 

"Mom, what's wrong?" Jake finally asked. 

Julia didn't know what to say, she tried not to ever lie to her children but she didn't really want to say something that would make Jake think badly of his grandmother either. That was something she'd learned from her dad. Her Dad might hate her Mom's guts, but she couldn't say that for sure because he never said anything derogatory about her in front of Julia, not when she was a kid, and not even after she was grown. 

When Julia didn't answer right away Anita wondered if she should step in and try to explain more but finally Julia spoke up. 

"Jake I was explaining to Anita that my Mom use to say hurtful things about my Dad and I resented that she did that. Remembering the things she used to say about him and some of the things she did to hurt him and to try and make me think he wasn't a good daddy made me very sad and angry too," Julia explained simply. 

"Why would grandma do that?" Jake asked sounding bewildered. 

"I don't know Jake. It's never made sense to me," she answered. 

"Did Grandpa say bad things about Grandma?" Jake said as though searching for a reason for his grandmother's behavior. 

"Not that I can ever remember," Julia replied. 

"Someone should make her apologize," Jake said with the logic of a young boy. 

"I wish it were that simple," Julia replied. 

Anita knew that Julia needed to talk about this more, but that now wasn't the time, She took Jake out to the kitchen and made him breakfast to give Julia some time to calm down. 

* * *

Meanwhile Lennie and Brian were having a pretty intense conversation as they played golf. Like Anita had with Julia, Lennie had confided in Brian about the possibility of Anita being pregnant. He did so because he really needed to talk about it, as Skoda had suggested, and Brian was both convenient and safe to talk to, though he did wish he were talking to an older more experienced man. 

"So, what are you two gonna do if she is pregnant?" Brian asked. 

"Well, thankfully we both agree that if she is pregnant we want the baby, but," Lennie stopped not sure exactly how to put all his fears and reservations into words. 

"But what?" Brian prompted. 

"It's sort of a battle between what we want emotionally and what we think makes sense," Lennie paused trying to order his thoughts. "There are a lot of reasons Anita and I shouldn't have a baby. The most obvious is our ages; if Anita has this baby, I'd be 75 by the time the kid gets out of High School. And a pregnancy would not be easy on Anita" Lennie added. 

"How old is Anita?" Brian asked. 

"She's 42 and a woman her age is more likely to have a baby that has problems or even have a miscarriage or stillbirth. God I don't think I could live through that again," Lennie replied. 

"Sounds like your talking your self out of the idea," Brian observed, wondering what Lennie meant about 'not being able to live through that again'. 

"Not really, in fact," Lennie heaved a big sigh, "I promised Anita that if she wasn't pregnant, I'd make sure she didn't get pregnant in the future by getting a vasectomy, but," Lennie trailed off. 

"You don't want to keep that promise?" Brian asked, a little bit surprised. 

"No, I don't," Lennie said shaking his head. "I've had a little more time to think about it and in some ways I hope she's not pregnant, because I think it's too soon in our relationship for us to have a child. But I still want us to try to have a baby a few months down the road," Lennie answered. 

"Have you really thought the consequences out Lennie?" Brian asked. 

"What consequences?" Lennie asked wondering whether his son-in-law had thought of pitfalls he hadn't. 

"Well even if there are no complications with the pregnancy you've still got issues to deal with, first of all, you sure won't be able to keep the relationship a secret if she's pregnant. I mean her superiors are gonna wonder who knocked her up, aren't they?" Brian said with a grin tossed at his father-in-law, which Lennie acknowledged with a nod and a grin of his own. 

"Then there's the fact that not only will you be an older father, but you'll be the father of a biracial child. Are you going to be able to handle that?" Brian challenged Lennie. 

Lennie blew out a breath. "You know the race issue keeps catching me by surprise. I just don't think in terms of 'I'm white, she's black'. I guess I've kind of grown up over the years, because there was a time that would have made a big difference to me, but now I seem to have become oblivious to it," Lennie replied. 

"Yeah, well you better be careful with that attitude because there are people who still have big problems with interracial couples and their kids," Brian cautioned. 

"Yeah, from both sides I guess," Lennie conceded. 

"That's right, its not just the redneck white guy you need to worry about, is it?" Brian asked. 

No, no it's not," Lennie acknowledged. "Man, why does my loving Anita have to be complicated? Why does anybody have to be in our business?" Lennie asked in frustration. 

"Sounds like you're frustrated about more than the interracial issue," Brian observed. 

'Well, yeah, I mean, all I want is to be able to be up front about my relationship with the woman I love, but I can't, because if I am, one or the other of us has to leave the 2-7. And who knows what sort of punishment the NYPD will dish out 'cause Anita got on their bad side a long time ago," Lennie explained heatedly. 

"How'd she do that?" Brian asked curiously. 

"They passed her over for a promotion, giving it to a white woman with less seniority, so Anita sued. It was bad for quite a while. They even took it out on the squad, but we all supported her. So anyway, she's not exactly a favorite person at One Police Plaza," Lennie replied. 

"Well, in the best of all possible worlds you'd be able to be open about the relationship and still work together because people would realize you were both capable of doing your jobs without mixing your personal and professional lives. And in the best of all possible worlds, you could have a child when you felt the relationship was ready for it, and there'd be no race issues to deal with either. But you don't live in the best of all possible worlds you live in the real one and you've got to cope with what is and what will be," Brian said. 

"That's a whole lot easier to say than it is to do," Lennie said feeling a bit annoyed at what he perceived to be his son-in-law's smugness. 

"Hey, I didn't mean to say it like it was easy. I know it's not. I guess what I'm trying to do is sound you out, make sure you're aware of all the pros and cons 'cause well, if you got hurt it'd hurt Julia too and I just don't cope well with her being upset," Brian said. 

"You know kiddo, somehow I really appreciate the fact that you twisted that around to make it seem like you're being self-serving, 'cause otherwise you'd probably be saying something mushy like you've grown 'fond' of me," Lennie said and grinned at Brian. 

"Hey, I'm an engineer. We don't use words like 'fond'. Come on we better pick up the pace or we'll be late for Jake's match," Brian warned. 

* * *

The guys showed up at the house at about 9:35 knowing they were cutting things very close. As Lennie started to head into the house Brian put out a hand to stop him. "Hey, unless you want to be on the wrong end of a homicide investigation, take your spikes off before you go in," he told Lennie with a grin. 

"Oh, has my little angel demonstrated that she's inherited her mother's ability to tear a guy a new one?" Lennie asked as he untied his golf shoes and left them on the porch. 

"I'll take the fifth on that one," Brian said as he opened the front door. 

"So are you all ready?" Lennie asked as if he weren't late and standing in his socks. 

"Ooh, you two get your shoes on and your butts in that SUV before we treat you like the truant little boys you're acting like," Julia scolded and looked to Anita for support. Jake giggled at the thought of his stepdad and grandfather being punished like they were boys. 

"Yes ma'am," Brian and Lennie chorused and then smirked at each other. 

"Move it!" Anita said. Lennie grabbed Brian's arm and started moving him towards the bedrooms. 

"Julia's probably kidding but I'm not taking any chances that Anita is," Lennie said. 

* * *

Lennie and Anita had a grand time at Jake's soccer match, cheering Jake and his buddies on, playing with Sean and chatting with the parents of the kids on the soccer teams. Jake then talked them into going to an indoor amusement park with the rest of the soccer families. Brian was wondering if a day of "playing grandparent" might change Lennie's mind about become a father again, but he noticed that his father-in-law and Anita both seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely. He did think they looked as though they could use some time alone, so Brian maneuvered his wife and kids out of the way for a short time and gave a conspiratorial wink to Lennie as he did. 

"That son-in-law of mine is a pretty good egg," Lennie observed as he maneuvered Anita around to a fairly quiet and secluded area of the Amusement park. 

"Yeah, well that's a good thing because he's married to a real peach," Anita said. 

"So you like my kid, do ya?" Lennie said with a smile. 

"Yeah, we've had a couple of good talks, last night and this morning, although she did get pretty upset this morning," Anita told Lennie. 

"What about?" he asked with concern. 

"Well I said something about how Sean looks like his Dad and Jake looks like you, and then Julia said when Jake was born, she thought it finally put your doubts about her being your child to rest and-" 

"What?" Lennie asked interrupting Anita. 

"She said she thought that when Jake was born, it finally put your doubts about her being your child to rest," Anita repeated. Lennie looked shocked. 

"You didn't know she knew about your doubts?" Anita asked Lennie and he shook his head. 

"She said her mother told her in one of her many attempts to undermine your relationship with her," Anita explained and wondered if she'd ever get a chance to tell him what she really wanted to tell him, which was that she'd told Julia about the possibility that she was pregnant. 

Lennie sadly shook her his head. "I knew Gloria despised me. I just didn't know how much," he said sadly. 

"Julia told me that her mother was always trying to convince her and Cathy that you were a terrible father and although she didn't buy it, she thought Cathy did," Anita paused then plunged ahead, "I told her I thought you'd bought the lies too. I told her that, when I told you that I might be pregnant, you said our having a child would give you another chance to get being a father right," Anita quickly finished. 

Lennie turned to Anita and she thought he looked like he was getting angry. "You told her you might be pregnant?" he asked and she simply nodded her head. 

"Don't you think I might have liked some input into if and when we told MY daughter that?" Lennie asked a bit heatedly. 

"I didn't know you wanted to keep it a secret from her, besides I told her because of what we were talking about," Anita countered. 

"It's OK," Lennie said calming down very quickly as he realized he was being hypocritical to get upset with her when he'd done something similar. "Hell, I told Brian. I don't know why I got upset about you telling Julia," Lennie said apologetically. 

"You told Brian?" Anita asked more shocked than upset. 

"Yeah, well there were some things I wanted to talk out with a guy. Brian was available and he's safe to talk to about this 'cause he won't tell anyone who shouldn't know about us," Lennie explained, Anita took in what he'd said and simply nodded her head. 

"Lennie, I think you should know how wrong Julia thinks you are about your assessment of your self as a father. She's thinks you were the best father her mother allowed you to be," Anita told him. 

"That's my daughters, Cathy who blamed me for everything and Julia who blames me for nothing. I'm afraid the truth lies somewhere in the middle," he said with a sigh. 

"Doesn't it always. Look I think you and Julia need a father daughter chat and soon," she said. 

"Yeah and you and I need to have a talk too but not here, maybe tonight when we're alone," Lennie said. Anita became worried, she wondered if he was having second thoughts about the baby or their relationship, she hated that she felt so insecure. Lennie read the insecurity on Anita's face. 

"Hey, don't worry. I haven't changed my mind about us or wanting you to have my baby, OK?" he said and pulled her to him for a gentle kiss, which was interrupted by Lennie's grandsons. 

"Grandpa, Anita, come on!" Jake said and the two boys led their "grandparents" off to the bumper car ride. Lennie placed Sean in a car with him and then he and Jake spent the entire ride harassing Anita. Lennie wondered where Brian and Julia were and then spied them having an intense conversation in a nearby snack area. 

The boys wanted to stay all afternoon but of course Sean was getting very tired and very cranky. Lennie managed to convince the boys that their old grandpa needed to go home and take a nap, so they family clambered back into the SUV and headed back to Brian and Julia's. 

* * *

With Sean down for a nap and Brian playing with a buddy next door, the adults had a chance for some conversation. After a while Brian took Anita outside to see the garden and Lennie and Julia finally had a chance for that little father daughter chat Anita had suggested. 

"Anita said you and she had a conversation this morning that upset you a bit?" Lennie said by way of initiating the conversation. 

"Yeah," Julia replied with a nod. "She said you thought you needed a chance to get being a father right and of course that upset me," she said almost defiantly. 

"Angel, I wasn't a very good Dad to you and Cathy," Lennie told her gently. 

"How could you be when Mom kept you away from us and bombarded us with lies about you?" Julia asked. 

"Angel, you don't understand," he paused, "and you can't because we left you in the dark about some things," Lennie told her, still reluctant to reveal a long buried pain. 

"Like what?" she asked 

"Did you ever think the gap in age between you and Cathy seemed kinda large?" he asked and she nodded and then Lennie swallowed hard and finally let Julia in on the family secret. 

"We had a baby boy between you and Cathy," he told her in a quiet voice. 

"What happened to him?" she asked simply. 

"He was stillborn, he looked perfect but," Lennie trailed off, and then hung his head remembering how devastating it was to go from the joy of anticipating the birth of a child to facing the death of that child. 

"Why was he stillborn? What was wrong with him?" Julia asked. 

"I don't know. Your Mom's family wouldn't hear of an autopsy for religious reasons and I didn't really have it in me to fight with them over it at the time. So we never found out what went wrong," Lennie answered still sounding bitter after all these years. 

"It must have been devastating to the two of you," Julia said gently. 

"In more ways than you would realize," Lennie answered with a sigh. "When a couple suffers the loss of a child, especially when they have no clear-cut reason for it, they blame each other. Even if they know rationally there's no reason to do so, they still do," he continued. Julia wondered at her father's choice of phrases. It seemed as though he was trying to distance himself by saying 'a couple', and 'they' rather than we. 

"At first your Mom was so depressed that I was practically a single parent, and I wasn't even functioning well enough myself to think to ask for help. Eventually, our families began to realize what was happening and helped out. Your Mom's parents had her go to a shrink and he put her on something that seemed to help, but," Lennie trailed off again. 

"But what, dad?" Julia gently urged him to continue. 

"After the doctor gave her that medicine she seemed to change. Suddenly she was obsessed with my getting ahead and making more money. She became convinced that if we had been more affluent, lived in a better part of town, gone to a different hospital that the baby wouldn't have died. And as strange as that may sound to you, I wasn't much better because I kept thinking that she'd done something that caused him to be stillborn, and I irrationally believed her family had opposed the autopsy because they knew it would reveal that. I guess we were both pretty close to crazy," he confessed, shaking his head. 

"I can't tell you why now, but I got real stubborn about certain things. I wouldn't give up being a detective no matter what your Mom wanted. So in order to make her happy about money, I took to hustling pool, until my captain said if I didn't stop gambling I'd lose my shield. When I quit hustling, your Mom -I guess she'd given up on me or something, she started cheating on me," Lennie's voice had gotten very quiet as he revealed the last bit of information. 

"Is that when you started drinking?" Julia asked wanting to confirm what she'd been told by family members. 

"Yeah, but I was a real amateur back then, I only drank on my days off," Lennie joked. 

"After a while I decided I had to make an effort to win your mom back, so I sobered up and went back to hustling again, but this time I took my act on the road," he said. At Julia's puzzled look he added, "I went to New Jersey, figuring my captain wouldn't get wind of what I was doing. Unfortunately, after a few successful hustles, I chose the wrong mark, a real sore loser. He and his buddies beat me up pretty good," Lennie recalled. 

"Oh, Daddy!" Julia exclaimed. 

"Well, it turned out to be a good thing. Gloria felt so bad about my getting beat up trying to make extra money because she'd been pushing me about it, that she seemed to go back to being her old self. We were happy again for a little while, but it didn't last," Lennie said sadly. 

"Because I was born?" Julia asked. 

"No, Julia don't take it that way," Lennie implored his daughter. 

"But it's true isn't it? You and Mom broke up because you didn't think I was your child?" she pressed. 

"No, that wasn't it. I didn't care who your biological father was because as soon as they put you in my arms, I fell in love with you and wanted to be your Dad," Lennie reached out and stroked her face and she smiled at him. 

"Your Mom and I broke up because I didn't trust her anymore and she was tired of trying and failing to make me into somebody I didn't want to be. Our break up was about us, it wasn't about you or Cathy. It was about two people who had grown apart and were continually hurting each other," he explained. 

"Look the reason I wanted to talk to you about this is, I wanted you to have a better understanding of how things were, so you'd maybe see things clearer now. I wasn't a good father to you and Cathy and that wasn't entirely your mother's fault, as you seem to believe," Lennie told her. 

"But Daddy, I remember how she treated you, the awful things she said about you. How she was always trying to keep us away from you and when she did let us go be with you she always made it so hard on you. She'd send us to you with nothing but the clothes on our backs," Julia countered. 

Lennie sighed remembering the many times he'd had to take his daughters directly to a department store to get clothes and shoes because Gloria had just dumped them off in a huff after he'd threatened to charge her with custodial interference. 

"I'm sorry you and Cathy got caught in the crossfire between your Mom and me, but you have to understand a couple of things. I hurt your Mom more than I realized with my distrust and there were times when she honestly thought she was doing the right thing by keeping you two away from me. As a child you probably didn't realize how dangerous a drunken parent could be, but think about it now as an adult. If Brian were drinking would you really want him to take care of Sean?" Lennie asked. 

"No," Julia answered softly. 

"I remember sometimes when Mom wouldn't let us be with you, when we were suppose to be, that you'd come over to the house and sometimes you'd be drunk, that was pretty scary," she admitted. "But Daddy I don't ever remember you drinking while Cathy and I were with you," she countered. 

"I always tried not to, but I didn't always succeed, and considering that I managed to hide my drinking from my bosses and partners for years, it really isn't too surprising that I could hide it from a little girl. Cathy knew though, she could always see right through me," Lennie said with a small shake of his head. 

"Daddy, after you joined AA and I wanted to come live with you, why didn't you let me?" Julia asked. It was one thing she'd always been upset about so she thought she might as well ask. 

"Well, it wouldn't have been a matter of my letting you. I would have had to go to court to get custody changed. I didn't think any judge would take custody away from your mother and give it to me, a cop with a reputation as a skirt chasing drunk," Lennie replied truthfully. "Besides I really truly thought you were better off with your mother and I wasn't sure just how good my grip on sobriety was at that time," he added. 

"Well, I'm glad you told me all this, but I still think you did an OK job being my Dad," Julia said with an emotion choked voice and tears in her eyes. 

Lennie didn't say anything to contradict his daughter but instead just took her in his arms, shushing her tears. He gave her a kiss on the cheek. "An angel deserves better than an OK Dad," he told her, still unwilling to relent in his negative self-assessment. 

Brian and Anita came back in the house in time to see Lennie still holding Julia. 

"Now there's a scene I wish I had a picture of," Brian said. 

Julia flashed him a smile. "Well, don't just stand there, get the camera!" she said. 

They spent some time taking pictures, and then when Sean woke up they took more, and when Jake came back from his friends they took even more. Anita was surprised to find that Lennie had packed a camera and several rolls of films. He informed her it was just a part of being a grandparent. Anita volunteered to help Julia make dinner while Brian and Lennie looked through some photo albums. Lennie was putting aside some of the albums to show to Anita later. 

* * *

Anita considered the dinner she helped Julia fix pretty ordinary - chicken, rice and fresh vegetables, but everyone thought it was wonderful, which was perhaps what caused Jake to ask, "Anita, when you marry Grandpa can I call you Grandma?" All the adults at the table were startled and not a little concerned about how Lennie would react to Jake's question. 

"Uh, well Jake, I-," Anita started to answer, but didn't know quite what to say; fortunately, Lennie stepped in. 

"Chip, you're putting Anita in a tough spot here, 'cause I haven't asked her to marry me yet and well you know," Lennie looked over at Anita, then back at Jake "she might be thinking of turning me down," he said. 

"Would you?" Jake asked Anita in disbelief. 

"Well no, but then I've never been sure your grandfather was going to ask me," Anita replied. 

Everyone looked at Lennie expectantly. "Hey, I'm slow OK, but I'm not stupid. I was going to get around to it," he said defensively. 

"Well Lennie, you know what they say, third time's the charm," Brian teased his father-in-law. The family spent the rest of the dinner teasing Lennie and Anita about getting married. 

* * *

After dinner they played with the boys until Sean's bedtime and then looked through the photo albums. When it was time for Jake to go to bed, he asked if Anita knew any bedtime stories. She said she did and so she was the one to tuck him into bed. When she came back Lennie joked that he'd have to ask her to marry him pretty soon or Jake might beat him to the punch. 

Lennie and Anita and Brian and Julia sat up talking until after midnight, when first Brian and then Lennie had stifled yawns within a few minutes of each other, their ladies decided it was time to take them to bed. 

* * *

"Lennie, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?" Anita asked, as they got undressed for bed. 

"Oh baby, it's too late to start a conversation now," Lennie replied. 

"But I'll never sleep, wondering what it is you need to talk to me about," she said. 

"Why is it women always want to talk at bedtime?" Lennie asked resignedly. 

"I don't know. Why do guys always want sex in the morning?" she retorted. 

"OK I give up. Come here, lie down with me and we'll talk," Lennie said giving in. 

Anita snuggled into his side, resting her head on his shoulder. 

"When I was talking with Brian today, I realized that I made a promise to you that I don't want to keep, and I figured I better tell you now rather than later," he told her. 

"What promise?" Anita asked, feeling insecure. 

"I told you that if you weren't pregnant I'd get a vasectomy so there'd be no chance of your getting pregnant in the future. I don't want to do that," Lennie answered. 

"Why not?" Anita wondered if he was simply getting cold feet about the procedure or if there was something more. 

"Because I want you to have my child. I know we talked about all the reasons why our becoming parents isn't rational. But I realized when I was talking to Brian that having a baby isn't about being rational; it's about love. I love you and I think we have a lot of love to give a child," Lennie explained and then nervously waited for Anita to have her say. 

Anita sighed heavily and then said, "Alright, but no extraordinary efforts to get pregnant. I mean it either happens naturally or it doesn't," she agreed. 

"OK, that works for me," Lennie said, very pleased that she was giving in so easily. 

"And we try for no more than a year, if I'm not pregnant by this time next year then you get the vasectomy," Anita continued negotiating. 

"Alright, whatever you say, baby," Lennie agreed, yawned and then kissed her pulling her closer to his side. 

* * *

Lennie expected to sleep in a bit Sunday morning, but he awakened to the smell of breakfast - coffee, pancakes and bacon it smelled like to him. He decided, after he'd been up a short while, that Brian was playing an old trick from his boyhood on him. His Mom would cook a wonderful Sunday breakfast that would get him out of bed at a decent hour and then she'd insist he go to Mass with her. Sure enough Brian was intent on dragging the whole family to Mass. On the way to church Lennie found himself wondering about several things; like whether Gloria and her very Jewish family had ever gotten over Julia's marrying a Catholic, and whether Anita had ever been to a Catholic service, and if he and Anita did have a child in what church would they raise the child? 

After mass they returned home and Lennie starting talking about their needing to get on the road in the early afternoon, naturally that brought protests, but they countered them with an invitation for Brian and Julia and the boys to come down to the city soon. Anita promised to check it out with her sons and see if they couldn't get both families together in her house. 

Brian and Lennie managed to set up the grill relieving their ladies of the cooking chores for lunch. Shortly after lunch Lennie and Anita started packing up. Just as Anita and Lennie were about to leave, a large town car pulled into the driveway. As soon as Julia saw the car she said, "Oh no, it's Mom!" 

A good looking man, who looked to be about 55, got out of the car and went around to the front passenger door and opened it. A beautiful blonde, who could have been anywhere from her mid thirties to her early fifties, got out. She was dressed in what Anita would call 'elegant casual' clothes that showed off her shapely figure. 

Brian and Julia greeted Gloria and her husband Stanley, but Jake hung back and kept Sean with him. Jake was angry with his grandmother and wasn't going to say hi to her until she apologized to Grandpa. Of course he didn't tell her or anyone else that and so she was simply mystified by the boy's behavior. 

Lennie found that the conversation he'd had with Julia the other day was very helpful in reminding him to be civil to Gloria because he could now vividly remember that although she'd often treated him shabbily, he probably deserved some of what he got. 

"Hello Gloria and Stanley is it?" Lennie said not sure he remembered his ex-wife's new husband's name. Stanley nodded and reached out to shake Lennie's hand. 

"Hello Lennie and who is this lovely lady you have with you?" Gloria asked in what seemed an almost friendly manner. 

"Gloria this is Anita van Buren. Anita this is Julia's mother Gloria Feinstein and her husband Stanley," Lennie said pulling the new husband's last name out of his memory at the last second. 

Gloria and her husband and Anita exchanged greetings, and then Gloria just couldn't resist getting a dig in at Lennie. 

"A word of warning darling, he was only ever good at three things, being a cop, shooting pool and," Gloria paused for effect, "well knowing Lennie I suppose you probably already know the other thing, that is unless age has robbed him of it. Oh, and for your sake darling, I certainly hope not, heaven knows he was always much more entertaining horizontally than vertically," she concluded. 

Gloria's new husband looked mortified and Lennie didn't know whether to be embarrassed, angry or amused, but before anyone could think of anything to say Anita rose to the occasion. 

"Well if not for his pool playing skills and his abilities as a cop I might not have survived my most recent undercover assignment, oh yes Lennie didn't tell you, I'm also a cop. And as to those other abilities of his, well he's still very entertaining horizontally, now if you'll excuse us, we need to get back to the city," Anita left Gloria standing rather dumb-founded as she and Lennie said another goodbye and gathered lots of hugs and kisses before driving off. 


	8. Ch 8 Family Approval Pt2

**Ch 8 Family Approval Pt 2**

They'd just gotten in the door when the phone rang. Lennie put the bags down and answered the phone. 

"Hello," Lennie said, "Oh, Hi Mom," he said and Anita saw a smile spread on his face. 

She continued on into the kitchen with the empty cooler, and then began fussing around with things to put in the hall closet and putting away the CDs. Truth was when she heard Lennie say Mom she wanted to stay within earshot. 

"We were up visiting Julia and the boys," Lennie answered his mother's question about where he'd been. 

"Uh, well, we is me and my girlfriend," he answered. 

"Yeah, very serious Mom," Lennie again answered a question, which Anita supposed was about how serious he was about his new girlfriend. 

"Uhm, well," Lennie stalled. 

"No Mama, it's just well, if I tell you about her and then you tell Bernie and Barbara well sooner or later Ken will know and that could be bad," as Lennie tried to explain his reluctance to talk about his new girlfriend, Anita almost laughed. It was kind of funny to hear a man in his late 50s say 'no Mama' like he was a little boy trying to convince his mother he wasn't hiding things from her. 

"Because – well, Ken's not exactly known to keep his mouth shut and," Lennie paused, which gave his mother enough time to ask why Ken should have to keep his mouth shut. 

"Oh OK, look Mom, it's against NYPD policy for Anita and me to be seeing one another," he finally admitted. 

"Because she's my boss," he answered the obvious question from his mother. 

"Because I love her Mom, I have for a long time," Lennie answered another question. Anita supposed it was why Lennie would see a woman he wasn't suppose to see. 

"Oh, for about 12 years," he said. 

"She was married that's why," Lennie continued answering his mother's questions and Anita thought that he'd perhaps gotten his ability to interrogate a witness from her. 

"Well, almost," he answered a question that Anita couldn't be sure about from his answer, but maybe it was about whether she was divorced now or not. 

"No, she's not Polish," Lennie answered almost with a laugh. 

"No, she's not another Jewish American Princess either," he gladly reported. 

"Uh no, she's not Catholic, she's Baptist," Lennie responded and plopped down sideways in his big easy chair realizing his mother's interrogation was going to go on and on. 

"No she's not a Southerner, she's from Brooklyn," he answered. 

By the time Lennie got off the phone with his mother he had told her how tall Anita was, what kind of figure she had, what color her hair and eyes were, her age, the names and ages of her sons, where her oldest son Ric went to college, and that her sister lived in Queens. He had also promised to talk to Anita about having dinner with his family to celebrate his birthday, which was coming up very soon. 

"So you got your ability to interrogate from your mother, huh?" Anita teased. 

"Oh that was just one of my Mom's favorite ways to communicate. She's got three favorites - 20 questions which you just heard, the nonstop what's been happening in my life lately, where you can't get a word in edgewise, and the one you want to avoid more than the plague - the 'lecture'. I've gotten more than my fair share of those, I think," Lennie said with obvious affection for his Mom. 

"Bernie and Barbara are?" she asked. 

"My brother and his wife," he replied as he got out of the recliner and stood in front of her. 

"I don't think I've ever heard you talk about your brother," Anita commented. 

"Yeah, well we weren't on speaking terms for a long time and then a few months ago Mom said for her 80th birthday what she really wanted was for her sons to 'bury the hatchet'. So after a few childish 'but Mom he started its', we did finally shake hands and agree to try and act like brothers again," Lennie said sounding somewhat ashamed of himself. 

"So, who did start it?" she asked truly curious. 

"He did or maybe not, it depends on how you look at it," Lennie admitted. 

"So what happened?" she prompted. 

"Well, when I was at my worst, in terms of drinking, I got jammed up money wise and went to Bernie for help. He turned his back on me, said as far as he was concerned he didn't have a brother anymore, " Lennie began pacing as he explained, as though he could walk away from the hurt. 

"I'm not sure if he thought of it as 'tough love' or what. But when I got back on my feet again, I kind of expected him to – I don't know apologize or explain why he did what he did or even just give me some credit for doing something so tough, but he never said a word. It was like I was suppose to pretend nothing ever happened," Lennie finished. 

"So you two shook hands but never really talked it out?" she asked. 

"Yeah," Lennie answered again sounding a bit ashamed of himself. 

Anita shook her head and wondered if she really knew what she was getting herself into, loving this guy. 

"Well, maybe for a birthday present I'll get your brother to actually sit down and talk things out with you," Anita suggested. 

"I'm hoping you've got my birthday present right here," Lennie said as he pulled her against him and placed his hand low on her tummy. He began placing little kisses on her neck and then turned her to face him so he could plunder her mouth. His kisses grew more and more passionate and Lennie began coaxing her towards the bedroom, when the phone rang again. 

"Let the machine get it," Lennie said as he continued to maneuver them towards the bedroom. He'd soon regret his words. 

"I can't come to the phone right now, so leave a message," his pre-recorded voice said. 

"Hi Lennie, it's Celia. Where've you been? I haven't heard from you in weeks. Why don't you bring your handsome self over here and I'll show just how much I've missed you," Lennie covered his face with his hand when he heard Celia's sultry voice as she did her best to seduce him in a phone message. 

When he did uncover his face he wasn't sure he could decipher the look on Anita's face but he was sure it wasn't good. 

"Well, shall I hit *69 for you or will you look up her number in your little black book or do you call her so often that you've got her number memorized?" Anita said frostily. 

"Baby," Lennie started to try and calm her down but she was having none of it. 

"Don't you baby me. How many more women are gonna be calling up because they miss your 'handsome self'?" Anita asked angrily. 

"Whoa, did you hear what she said? She hadn't heard from me in weeks. You and I haven't been together that long. So don't go getting all frosty with me because I had a social life before we got together. And yeah, I do need to call a few women to let them know I'm permanently out of circulation," Lennie said animatedly. He then gently but firmly took her upper arms in his hands to make her stay and listen to him. 

"I'm permanently out of circulation because I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want you to have my child. Is any of this ringing a bell, baby? Don't you remember what we were about to do before Celia's call came in?" he asked in frustration. 

"I'm sorry," Anita moaned and then crumbled into his arms. Lennie shushed her and placed light kisses on her face. 

"I just, I feel so insecure every time I hear mention of the other women in your life," she admitted. 

"You didn't seem insecure when Gloria showed up at Julia's," Lennie noted. 

"That was different. She was trying to embarrass you, not seduce you," Anita explained. 

"The only woman I want to seduce me is you," Lennie said. "In fact, I wouldn't mind if you'd get back to doing that now," he added and kissed Anita, but he could tell she was going to need a little while to get back to her old self, so he didn't pressure her. 

"Let's get the unpacking finished and get some dinner, OK?" Lennie suggested. 

After dinner, Lennie remembered to call Julia to tell her they'd made it home safely and he and Anita cuddled in the big chair and listened to music. After a few hours, Anita seemed to have set aside her jealousy and insecurity; she suggested an early bedtime, which Lennie had no problem with. When she went to take a shower before bed, Lennie called Celia back to tell her he was now involved with the love of his life, so she'd have to make do with out him. Celia was a good sport about it and even wished the best of everything to him and his new love. He found himself hoping all his girlfriends would be as understanding. 

When Anita finished her shower, Lennie wrapped her in a towel and made sure she was warm and dry. He then offered to give her a massage. At first he actually did give her an excellent massage with a good moisturizing lotion, but soon the massage turned into an incredibly sensuous, erotic seduction. Lennie was determined to chase away any doubts on her part about how he felt about being with her. Their early bedtime actually turned into a late night, albeit one spent making love and cuddling. 

Monday turned out to be a busy day with both Lennie and Anita having to take some personal time to go to meetings. Lennie met with his accountant, he told Manny to get him some information about investing the majority of what would be left of the money he'd won shooting pool after taxes, with an emphasis on paying for college for a child. After that he went to the bank to withdraw enough money to pay the federal, state and local taxes on his winnings. Anita met with Don and a lawyer and drew up an agreement that she would take to Santa Domingo. The lawyer had contacts in the Dominican Republic and managed to get her time before a judge on Friday morning. 

When Both Lennie and Anita got back to the precinct they took a few minutes to fill one another in on their meetings before getting down to work. Lennie told Anita that if she didn't mind he'd make her travel arrangements to the Dominican Republic for her with a friend of his. He didn't tell her the friend was one of those women he needed to talk to about his being out of circulation; he felt no need to feed that neurosis. He figured giving Sandra some business would help soften the blow when he dumped her. He also planned on making the trip as nice as he could for Anita. 

Lennie sought out some privacy in an empty interview room and called the travel agency Sandra worked at on his cell phone. He had her book Anita a first class round trip ticket to Santa Domingo and a 4 star hotel. He also asked Sandra to arrange to have a limo take Anita to the airport Thursday evening to catch the flight and to also have a limo available to her in Santa Domingo to take her to and from the airport, hotel and the courthouse. 

Sandra had booked quite a few quick divorce trips but was very curious about why Lennie would be arranging one for this woman. When Sandra asked for a credit card to charge the trip to Lennie asked if he could pay cash and she couldn't keep her curiosity in check. Lennie finally admitted he was making these arrangements for the woman he was in love with, and oh, by the way, Sandra would have to consider him permanently out of circulation. Sandra was a little less gracious about things than Celia had been, but did eventually wish him well, even if she did admit to being extremely jealous of Anita. 

Lennie used his lunch hour to get the cash he needed to pay for Anita's trip and then took it to the travel agency. Sandra insisted he tell her about this woman who had won his heart, when she was so sure he'd packed it away. Lennie began extolling Anita's virtues and Sandra decided she'd heard enough, besides she could see from the look on his face that he was indeed happy with his new love. 

When Anita tried to make arrangements to be out of the office Friday, she was told that due to shortages caused by so many of NYPD's finest being called up as reservist to fight in Iraq, she would simply have to have the sergeant detective in her squad substitute for her. Before Anita could say she didn't have a sergeant detective in her squad, she was hung up on. Anita pondered the situation and decided Lennie was the closest thing the squad had to a sergeant, so she'd leave the squad to him. 

Lennie grabbed a slice of pizza and a diet coke on his way back to the precinct, then stopped at the cart that was generally always near the precinct front door to get a pretzel for Anita. He brought the pretzel and the travel itinerary to Anita. 

"Hey you, you're gonna draw attention to us doing things like this," she said as she took the pretzel from him. 

"Ah, they'll just think I'm trying to get on your good side so that you won't make me do any more punishment duties," Lennie said, almost hoping she'd relent about the cold case files and just put him back on the streets. 

"Well, they'd be wrong, in fact," she laughed a little, "you're gonna pick up new punishment duty on Friday," she said and then took a bite of the pretzel. 

"What and why?" Lennie asked with a sigh. 

"You get to be acting chief of the squad while I'm in Santa Domingo because according to Admin the NYPD is stretched too thin, because of all the reservist called up to go to Iraq, to be able to send an officer to cover for me. They said I should have the squad's sergeant fill in for me. Of course they hung up before I could tell them my squad doesn't have a sergeant," she explained. 

"Yeah but, why me?" Lennie complained. 

"Because you have the most seniority and you did pass the sergeant's exam a long time ago, didn't you?" Anita asked in an amused manner. 

"Yes, I did," Lennie admitted reluctantly. 

"Which brings me to the question I've always wanted to ask. Why aren't you a sergeant? I mean, you could still be a detective with a sergeant's shield you know," she asked. 

"I took the exam just to prove a point. I never wanted the extra responsibilities and paperwork that went with the sergeant's shield," he answered. 

"And what about the extra pay?" Anita asked. 

"At the time it would simply have meant I'd pay more alimony and child support," Lennie countered. 

"And you begrudged your ex the extra money enough to not take the promotion?" Anita asked a little disbelief creeping into her voice. 

"No, I'm sorry I shouldn't have said that. It's just a reflex; I used to use that as a standard excuse. To be honest, I think I already realized how much my drinking was affecting my performance on the job. I just didn't think I'd be able to handle the extra responsibility, and then after I joined AA it just never occurred to me to do anything about it," he answered. 

"Well, think about it now. This squad should have a sergeant and sooner or later someone at Admin is gonna say something to me about it," Anita said. 

"Are you saying I should seek a promotion so you don't catch flak from higher up?" Lennie asked with a laugh. 

"Yeah, I guess I am," she said as looked at the travel itinerary Lennie had brought to her. 

"Lennie!" Anita said in surprise. "You got me a first class ticket?" 

"Only the best for you, and there will be a limo to take you to JFK and one in Santa Domingo to take you to the hotel and the courthouse and back to the airport. We should talk about this later, OK? I haven't gotten much work done today and my boss will probably get on my case about that pretty soon," Lennie teased. 

"OK, you're probably right about that," she said with a smile. 

Lennie went back to his desk in the squad room and started reviewing cold case files that someone, probably Ana Cordova, had been kind enough to dig out for him. After several hours of pouring over the squad's unsolved cases he was feeling depressed as he read through case after case that the detectives in this squad couldn't crack. The fact that he'd done this before just a few years ago didn't help matters any. 

Anita saw Lennie heave a big sigh as he closed a folder; he stretched and put his hand to the back of his neck then reached for another folder. She felt torn. She hated to see him get so stressed looking over those old files, but she didn't want to appear to be 'playing favorites'. She thought about it for a while and realized that she would give any of her detectives a break from that sort of work and she couldn't make Lennie work under more difficult conditions than any of the others because of her fear of appearing partial. She was beginning to wonder if she was making a mistake trying to have her cake and eat it too, but she wasn't going to tell Lennie that now. 

"Detective Briscoe, could you come in here for a moment?" Anita asked as she opened her door. 

"Sure Lieu," Lennie said as he quickly headed for her office. 

"What can I do for you?" Lennie asked. 

"Take a break from those awful cold case files for a few minutes," Anita told him. 

"Huh?" Lennie asked inarticulately. 

"I could see you getting more stressed out by the minute and I just thought you could use a break," she said with a smile. 

"Thanks, I really could use a break. Looking at all those cases we didn't clear is a real downer," he said as he flopped down in the chair in front of her desk. 

"So Detective Briscoe, what's new with you?" Anita said a grin. 

"Well, let's see, I think the biggest news in my life has to be that I've got a new girlfriend," Lennie said playing along. 

"Oh really, are you serious about her?" Anita asked trying hard to contain her smile. 

"I must be, I'm taking her to meet my Mom," he replied, his grin showing off his bright white teeth and his eyes sparkled with amusement. 

"And what about you? Anything new and exciting in your life?" he asked, his eyebrows arching suggestively when he said exciting. 

"Well as a matter of fact, I too have someone new in my life," she replied. 

"Oh and are you serious about him?" Lennie asked in return. 

"I must be I went to visit his daughter and grandsons this weekend," she replied keeping up the banter. 

"Grandsons? The guy must be too old for you," he said with a grin 

Before Anita could answer Ana Cordova knocked on Anita's door and simultaneously opened it. 

"Sorry to interrupt but I've got the LUDS on Cameron's apartment that you wanted to see," Ana said as she crossed to the lieutenant's desk laying a sheet of paper on it. She could see that Lennie looked very interested. It was difficult for the older detective to be on the sidelines during an investigation. 

"I'll be getting back to work now. Thanks for break, Lieu," Lennie said as he headed toward the door. 

"No problem, Lennie," Anita said. 

Ann Cordova smiled when she saw Lennie and the lieutenant trying to be discreet about their relationship. They needn't have bothered; almost everyone in the squad had it at least half way figured out. It wasn't that Lennie and Anita were being careless; it was just that they worked with a bunch of detectives. Even those who hadn't added 1 and 1 and gotten that Anita and Lennie were involved with one another, had at least picked up on the fact that she was getting a divorce and that Lennie had a new live-in girlfriend. 

"Detective?" Anita said, as Ana stared out of Van Buren's office at Lennie's receding back. Anita was somewhere between annoyance and jealousy, wondering what in the world Ana was thinking. 

"Sorry ma'am, I just got distracted for a moment," Ana said as she turned around. 

"Do you mind if I ask you what has you distracted?" Anita asked. 

Ana paused for a moment, wondering if she should say something to the lieutenant about her relationship with Lennie or not, she made up her mind, took a deep breathe and chickened out, "I was just wondering who's gonna plan Lennie's birthday party since Ed's on medical leave?" 

"Are you volunteering?" Anita asked. 

"Well I guess I could," Ana offered. 

"You're rather fond of him aren't you?" Anita asked. 

Ana wondered for a moment if that was just a question or if Anita was jealous, she decided she'd let her answer ease Anita's mind. 

"Yes, I think of him like an extra uncle," Ana said, and then added, "So have you got any ideas what I should plan for Tio Lennie's birthday?" 

"Hm, let me think. Well, I can only think of three things he's really crazy about – pool, golf and his family, especially his two grandsons," Anita replied. 

"Oh yeah, I've seen him pull out pictures of the boys, they're really cute," Ana agreed about Lennie's affection for his grandsons, but she knew Anita was leaving out one more thing Lennie was crazy about – Anita. 

"You know what I bet he'd really love?" Anita asked, beginning to get into the spirit of planning a celebration for Lennie. 

"What?" Ana asked. 

"One of those new titanium drivers, he was talking about his son-in-law having one," Anita said. 

"They're pretty expensive, but if we went in together on it, and I think one of the guys has a brother-in-law who works in a sporting good place, maybe he could get us a deal," Ana said almost thinking aloud. 

"OK, so much for the squad's gift, now the thing he'll really go for - cake and ice cream!" Anita said and Ana nodded her head. Lennie was famous for his sweet tooth. 

"Oh and pizza too!" Ana added. 

"If you organize the squad in terms of getting him a card and the golf club, I'll handle the food," Anita suggested. 

"Deal," Ana said. 

"Now let's talk about these LUDS," Anita said and the two women got back to business. 

The subject of their conversation had just settled in to look over some more cold case files, when a witness in the ongoing homicide investigation entered the squad room. She was a stunning blonde with a face and figure that captured the attention of all the male detectives in the room at the time save one. As Detective Johnson escorted her to the interview room, Lennie glanced up from the report he was reading but went right back to work. His lack of attentiveness to the lovely lady did not go unnoticed. 

"Hey Lennie, did you misplace it or has it just got a one-track mind now?" Sweeny asked. 

"What?" Lennie asked having no idea what the other detective was teasing him about. 

"A blonde with a gorgeous face, great big rack and luscious legs saunters through the squad and you barely noticed," the other detective replied. 

"Uh, what can I say, I guess I just didn't find her as appealing as you did," Lennie countered. 

"Whoa wait, Mendoza, Dworkin, you guys back me up here. That gal that just walked through here, Did she or did she not have something for just about every guy?" Sweeney asked his fellow detectives in the squad room. 

The other two detectives agreed she did, and then Dworkin added, "Yeah, for everyone but Lennie here. I told you, the guy's got a new main squeeze and this proves it. Only way an old bird dog like Lennie doesn't sit up and take notice when that lady waltzes through here, is if he's getting plenty at home". 

"So what about it, Lennie. You got a new live-in?" Sweeney asked. 

Lennie felt like he was in a real bind. While he'd never been the kind of guy to brag about his sex life with the other guys, he'd never been shy about talking in general terms about his girlfriends, because the women in his life didn't mean that much to him, but Anita meant the world to him. So he wasn't comfortable with the direction of the conversation. 

"If I do, I don't see how it would be anyone's business but my own," he replied trying to sound calm but actually coming across as upset. 

"Hey ease up Lennie, nobody's trying to disrespect you or your new lady. Everyone's just glad to see you seeming so happy that's all," Mendoza quickly put in. 

Lennie looked at the other two detectives as they echoed Mendoza's comment. 

"So just out of idle curiosity, besides not paying much attention to the blonde, what gave me away?" Lennie asked and leaned back in his chair to await their report. 

They took turns filling Lennie in on his 'tells'. Each of them had picked up on different clues, and they'd shared them. 

"So who is she, man?" Mendoza asked. 

"Yeah, and how serious are you about this chick? I mean is Lennie Briscoe, the Big Apple's most cynical man about marriage, gonna take the plunge again or what?" Dworkin asked. 

Anita saw the detectives gathered around Lennie's desk and wondered what was going on. 

"Anything I should know about gentlemen?" she asked. 

"Well lieutenant, maybe you can get Briscoe to fess up," Dworkin suggested. 

"Fess up to what?" Anita asked curiously. 

"Well, we got him to admit he's got a new girlfriend but he won't tell us her name or whether he's gonna marry her," Sweeney replied. 

"Well, first, don't you think he has a right to keep a few things to himself?" she asked sweetly. 

The guys all shrugged and there was a murmured yeah. 

"Second, don't any of you have work to do?" Anita asked. 

As the detectives all scattered away from Lennie's desk, Anita and Lennie gave each other worried looks and then Anita asked Lennie to come back into her office. 

"Oh brother, I guess we had to expect them to figure some things out, after all they are detectives," Anita said. 

"Yeah and they won't leave it alone. They'll worry it like a dog with a bone," Lennie said morosely. 

"Maybe you should just tell them what they want to know, could be we'll get lucky and they won't believe you," Anita suggested. 

"Now there's a thought, of course the fact that we're in here right now may be giving them another clue," Lennie warned. 

"I suppose, look what I really wanted was to let you know that I've got to work a little later than usual," Anita told him. 

"The Cameron case?" he asked. 

"Yeah, we're waiting for a search warrant and after we execute it, we should have things wrapped up, I hope," she said as she crossed her fingers. 

"What's wrong?" she asked seeing a troubled look on his face. 

"I just feel like I ought to be helping you out. I hate doing all this ass duty because of that jerk Michaels," Lennie said feeling good to vent a little. 

"Just a few more days and you can get back to business as usual," Anita promised. 

"Well not really, I mean Ed won't be with me for a while, right?" Lennie said. 

"Yeah, there's no way I'm putting him back out on the street to watch your back until I'm sure he's back 100%," Anita answered. 

"So, who you gonna partner me with while Ed's rehabbing?" Lennie asked. 

"I don't know I haven't thought about it. I suppose I ought to put my least experienced detective with you, one who could really gain something from partnering with you. But that would be Ana Cordova and I'm not so sure about doing that," Anita said. 

"Oh please, tell me this is more about worrying about whether she can watch my back or whether her inexperience might hurt a case, and not that you're jealous," Lennie almost pleaded. 

"Lennie!" Anita protested. 

"Hey, tell me after last night that that's a stupid thing for me to be worried about," Lennie said a bit defensively. 

"You know what, we're not having this conversation right now and certainly not here," Anita said in her no nonsense voice. 

"Your right, I'm sorry. Look," Lennie said looking at his watch, "my tour's almost over I'm gonna go straighten up those files, and then I'm gonna go home and see if I can't fix us some dinner that'll keep 'til you get home, OK?" he asked hoping his quick compliance would calm her down. 

"OK, that sounds good," she agreed and he headed out. 

Lennie arrived home and was surprised at how lonely he felt coming home without Anita. He changed out of his work clothes and into some comfortable old jeans and a T-shirt, though not his NYPD T-shirt, as Anita seemed to have claimed that one as her own and he did like how she looked in it. 

He walked into the kitchen and pulled out a recipe book his sister-in-law had given him years ago. She said almost anything in it was easy to make if he'd read the instructions. She said the read the instructions part with that typical female scorn that said only men could be stupid enough not to read instructions. He looked for something that he had the ingredients for and that looked like would be OK if it had to be reheated. 

He'd almost settled on a casserole that sounded good, when the phone rang. It was to turn out to be the first of many calls he'd get or make that night. This call was from his AA sponsor who was worried about him because he hadn't heard from Lennie in a week and a half or seen him at the last couple of AA meetings that Lennie usually attended. They had a brief but intense discussion in which his sponsor reminded him that his sobriety wasn't dependent on whether things were going bad or good but on whether he was working his program. Lennie had to admit that was true and he promised to get back with what had always worked for him. Once he had agreed to that his sponsor congratulated him on having a new love in his life and wished them well. Lennie promised he'd see him at a meeting real soon. 

As he gathered the ingredients for the casserole the phone rang again, it was Stefan looking for his Mom. Lennie explained that she was working late, and then on an impulse asked if Stefan and his brother Ric might like to have dinner with him on Thursday evening when Anita would be out of town. He reminded Stefan that they'd agreed a while back that the three of them should probably have a talk. Stefan wasn't sure whether Ric would be able to get together with them Thursday evening or not, but said he'd be willing if they could go someplace like Dave and Buster's or Jillian's. Stefan explained that besides a good choice of food the place had lots of video games and billiards, Jillian's even had a bowling alley. Lennie thought it sounded OK to him, even if it was a bit of a drive to get to either place, so Stefan said he'd call and see if he could convince Ric and then he'd get back to Lennie with the details. 

Meanwhile, in a tavern near the 27th precinct Ana Cordova and Mark Johnson were catching a quick meal while they waited for a phone call about the warrant they needed to wrap up the Cameron case. Several other detectives from the 2-7 joined them intending to pump them for any information they might have that related to their unofficial investigation into the identity of Lennie Briscoe's new girlfriend. Ana decided to take advantage of their presence to bring up Lennie's birthday party. 

"Hey gang, I volunteered to help plan Lennie's birthday party since Ed's on medical leave. So are you guys up for going in on a squad present for him?" Ana asked. 

There was a flurry of sures and yeahs and finally Sweeney asked, "Any idea what to get him?" 

"Lt. Van Buren said he mentioned something about his son-in-law's new golf club, a titanium driver. You think we can afford to get him one if we pool our money?" Ana inquired. 

"If we can get my brother-in-law to give us a deal, I'm sure we can," Dworkin answered. 

"But we need to get some information to get the right one," Sweeney said. 

"I'm sure we can get that information some how," Mendoza said. 

"Yeah that can't be as hard as figuring out who his new girlfriend is," Sweeney said with a laugh. 

"You been trying to get that out of him?" Mark asked. 

"Yeah, when you were interviewing that really pretty witness, we were sort of interrogating Lennie about why he didn't seem to react to her presence. He admitted that he's got a new live-in girlfriend, but before we could get more out of him the Lieutenant broke things up," Sweeney answered. 

"Why do you care who his new girlfriend is?" Ana asked. "I mean, do you think you ought have a right to approve or disapprove or something?" Ana added. 

"Well no, I guess it's just idle curiosity, except, "Sweeney paused and then continued, "I've known Lennie quite a while and well, there are two things that seem different to me this time around. One, he's not usually so careful about not letting things slip about who he's seeing and two, he's a lot happier camper than I've ever seen him be." 

There were agreements all around on what Sweeney said. 

"You know, with Lennie's track record maybe somebody ought to have right of approval on his choice of girlfriend," Dworkin said with a smile. 

"Yeah, two divorces and at least one affair with a married partner, I'd say the guy could use some advice," Mendoza added. 

"Hey, you think maybe he's being cagey 'cause he's doing it again?" Dworkin asked somewhat seriously. 

"Doing what again?" Mendoza asked skeptically. 

"Having an affair with a married woman, " Dworkin answered with a laugh. "I mean I'm pretty sure Lennie doesn't swing both ways, so having an affair with his partner is out," he added. There were some good-natured agreements to his last statement. 

"Yeah, I'm sure too," sighed Patterson who'd been quiet until then. 

"Whoa Patterson, you got a crush on the old guy?" Sweeney asked Patterson, the squad's one gay detective. 

Patterson looked a bit embarrassed. "No, well, not really. I mean, he is pretty appealing in that older guy kind of way; and for a guy who is pretty old school Lennie's very open-minded, but I'm pretty sure he's about as straight as they come," Patterson explained. 

"You know, if the senior detective in this squad wasn't so tolerant, you can bet none of you would know I'm gay," he added. 

"Hey since Lennie is so open minded and tolerant you think that in return the squad can be open minded and tolerant of whoever his girlfriend is?" Ana asked. 

"How's come I'm getting the feeling that you know who he's seeing and are worried about it?" Sweeney asked. Everyone looked at Ana expectantly. 

"Ana, I think we ought tell them what we know and let them decide whether their willing to take the same course of action that we are," Mark said. 

"But Mark," Ana started to protest but stopped when Mark gave her a determined look. 

"Is their some major problem with who Lennie's with?" Sweeney asked. 

Ana looked at Mark and sighed, "I guess it depends how priggish you are," she stated. 

"What do you mean?" Dworkin asked 

"The woman he's seeing is married, but she's getting a divorce, and she's not his partner, she's his boss," Mark said. The group of detectives sounded like a choir as they all said what. 

"Wait a minute, you're saying Briscoe is banging the lieutenant?" Mendoza asked. 

"Well, I wouldn't put it that way, and if you'd seen them kissing at the hospital the night Ed Green got shot like Mark and I did, you probably wouldn't say it either," Ana said a bit miffed at Mendoza's choice of phrases. 

"So, you think they're really in love?" Sweeney asked more diplomatically. 

Again Ana looked at Mark, feeling that the men would probably more readily accept a guy's judgment. 

"Yeah, Ana's right, you could tell. Lennie had just come from checking on Ed's condition and the lieu looked really beat. The kiss he gave her was, I don't know, real gentle like. It just reminded me of when my wife has had a rough day in the ER and I'm just gonna take her home and hold her so she can fall asleep," Mark explained. 

"Look, what skin is it off your noses if Lennie and the lieutenant are together?" Ana asked. 

"None I suppose," Dworkin answered. 

"But the department has anti-fraternization rules for a reason, you know," Sweeney pointed out. 

"Do you think the lieutenant's gonna run the squad differently now? Or that Lennie's gonna be less effective on a case because they're together?" Mark asked. 

There were a lot of heads shaking and Mendoza spoke up, "No, if things where going to be different we'd have seen signs of it by now. I mean if she was going to treat Lennie differently, would she have come up that creative bit of punishment duty she slapped on him?" 

There were a lot of grins and heads shaking about that comment. 

"You know, I think we ought to let the Lieutenant and Lennie know that we know about them and that we aren't gonna rat on them. I mean they've got to be worried about that," Mendoza suggested. 

"Is everyone cool with that?" Sweeney asked. Everyone nodded or said yes. 

"Well, I think there's an easy way to do that. Let's put a note about it in Lennie's birthday card," Ana proposed. 

Just as the detectives reached agreement about the issue, Ana's cell phone rang and she and Mark excused themselves to return to their case. 

Back in Lennie's apartment the phone was quiet long enough for him to get the casserole together and into the oven, when it did ring again it was his sister-in-law Barbara who called. She wanted to inform him that his birthday dinner was to be at her place instead of his mother's and that was at his mother's request. Lennie wanted to protest and Barbara understood why. She realized there was still a rift between her husband and his brother, but she hoped the two men might finally get over it and move on with their lives. Lennie didn't have much choice but to agree to the change in venue as he couldn't really ask his 80 year old mother to put herself out for him, even if she'd never get anyone to believe she was eighty. 

Once he got off the phone with Barbara he decided to do as he'd promised his AA sponsor and get back to his program, he'd start by doing a little journaling and maybe later he'd find some time to meditate. Considering all the changes in his life recently he probably needed the meditation more than he realized. 

Lennie was sitting in his big leather chair with one leg dangling over the arm as he wrote about the last week and half or so. He had just paused in his writing when he heard Anita's key in the door. He practically leaped out of his chair to open the apartment door for her, putting his journal down on the couch just before he opened the door. The sudden opening of the door startled Anita. 

"Oh baby, I'm sorry I didn't mean to scare you. I've just been so anxious to have you home," Lennie said. 

Before she could say anything in reply, he took Anita into his arms to show her how happy he was that she was home. He closed the apartment door by backing her up into it and then put his right hand on the side of her face, with his long fingers in her hair wrapped towards the back of her head. He pulled her face to his and kissed her lips and her cheeks and eyes, and then came back for another longer, deeper kiss as his hands began to caress her arms and the sides of her body. He encountered her holstered gun on the right side of her waist so he removed it and quickly tossed it on the chair near the entryway closet. He turned back to her and thrust his left thigh between her legs forcing her to straddle his leg. He mated his mouth to hers and began exploring her mouth with his tongue. As his movements became more and more passionate, Anita wondered if Lennie intended to make love to her up against the apartment door. Before she could get her answer the phone rang. 

"God damn it! The phone's been ringing off the wall all evening," Lennie said with annoyance. 

"You could ignore it and let the machine get it," Anita suggested in a not so innocent voice. 

Lennie moved them both towards the phone as he said, "Oh yeah, remember how well that worked for me last night." 

"Hello," Lennie said as he picked up the receiver but kept an arm around Anita. 

"Oh hi Bobby, yeah sorry I haven't called back, we've been kind of busy," he explained, a bit distracted because Anita was snuggling into his chest and kneading his butt. 

"Uh, let me ask Anita," he said and covered the receiver by placing it against his shoulder. 

"Would you stop that long enough to answer a question?" he asked with a big grin and Anita took her hands off his butt and held them behind her back. 

"Would you like to have dinner with Bobby Garcia and Nickie Miller this Wednesday?" he asked once he saw that he had her attention. 

"Sure," Anita said simply. 

Lennie got back on the line with Bobby Garcia and made arrangements for them to go over to the apartment that the two IAB officers shared. As he hung up, he kissed Anita again and then asked her, "Are you hungry?" 

"For what?" she asked coyly. 

"Oh you, come here," he said as he laughed and then kissed her again. When they came up for air he said, "Let's check and see if what I cooked is edible, OK?" Lennie suggested. 

Dinner turned out to be a bit better than edible, to Lennie's great surprise. They talked about the Cameron case a bit and he mentioned his sister-in-laws call to change the location for his birthday dinner. Anita told him about Ana Cordova volunteering to help with his birthday party and they got into a little playful teasing about Anita being jealous. Just as they were finishing up the dishes the phone rang. It was Ed. He said he was getting stir crazy, so Lennie offered to come pick him up tomorrow and take him to lunch. Lennie had no more than hung up when the phone rang again. 

"Damn it, I'm just gonna leave it off the hook next time!" he said as he reached for the phone again. 

"Hello," Lennie said a bit shortly. "Oh yes Mrs. Harris, she's here. Just a moment," Lennie said, he handed the phone to Anita as an anxious look came over his face. 

"Hi Mama," Anita said sweetly. 

"I'm sorry mama, I've been kinda busy you know," Anita apologized. 

"Yeah, well he's very important to me Mama," Anita responded a bit defensively. 

"This weekend? OK, how about Saturday?" Anita suggested. 

"No, I'll just be getting back from Santo Domingo Friday evening. I think I'd be too tired from the flight to come over Friday evening, Mama. 

"Alright, we'll be there about 7? OK, Love you Mom," Anita hung up, and looked at Lennie, he looked even more worried than when she'd taken the phone. 

"Dinner at you Mom's house Saturday?" Lennie asked a bit nervously. 

"Yes, and don't look so nervous once the family meets you I'm sure they'll all love you," Anita assured him. 

"I'd settle for tolerate me," Lennie said grimly. 

"You know, I don't know why you think my family isn't going to like you," Anita responded. 

"You want a list?" Lennie asked acerbically. 

"Lennie," Anita said almost scolding him. 

"Hey, your Mom's got to have a list of reasons she doesn't want her little girl involved with me," Anita rolled her eyes. "OK, I'm a recovering alcoholic, I've been divorced twice, I'm 15 years older than you, I'm a cop, and I'm your subordinate. Should I mention race and religion?" he asked. 

"Well, aside from the fact that she doesn't know all of that, I have a list too, you know," Anita said. 

"Oh and just what on your list is gonna offset all of your Mom's list?" Lennie said. 

"You're a recovering alcoholic, that means you know you've got a problem and you work every day at staying sober. You've been married before, well so have I, so we both know the pitfalls in a marriage. You're older than me - so what, most men need a head start when it comes to maturing," the exchanged smirks at that comment. Anita continued her list. "You're a cop. So you understand what I do everyday and I understand what you do. OK, that I'm your boss is probably not a plus but we'll learn to cope with it. Race is gonna be everyone else's issue but not ours, right?" she asked and Lennie nodded his head. "Religion, well every couple's got to have something they fight about, " she said and he grinned. 

"And of course I've got two more things on my list that are what will really win her over," Anita said. 

"What are those?" Lennie asked. 

"I love you and you love me," she said and wrapped her arms around his neck. 

Lennie grinned and then said, "Let's hope that means as much to your mother as it does to us." Just as they were really getting into a kiss the phone rang again. 

"I thought you were gonna take it off the hook," she said at his obvious annoyance. 

"Hi, oh Stefan," Lennie said as he picked up the phone and Anita was confused that he didn't hand the phone over right away. 

"Yeah, sure I can do that, which dorm?" Lennie said as he reached for something to write on. 

"Better give me Ric's phone number too, just in case something goes wrong and I'm running late," Lennie said as he juggled the phone and a pen and note pad. 

"Want to talk to your Mom?" he asked and then handed the phone to Anita. 

Anita spoke to Stefan for a few minutes getting filled in on her "guys" going out while she was away. Stefan asked his Mom not to tell Lennie that it was hard to sell Ric on meeting with him. She reluctantly agreed. 

Anita finally moved to sit down and found Lennie's journal in her way. 

"What's this?" Anita asked. 

"My journal," Lennie answered as he quickly took the book from her. 

"Oh, I'm sorry. I wouldn't have read it you know," she assured him. 

He sat down next to her and gathered her to him. "I know it's just, well I put everything I'm thinking and feeling in there. No censoring it and I'm not sure it would make sense to anyone else but me and well maybe you'd take something out of context and get mad at me," Lennie tried to explain his protectiveness of the journal. 

"I really do understand. I've kept a journal myself. In fact, I probably should start a journal again," Anita told him. 

"Why do you say that?" Lennie asked. 

"Well, " she hesitated wondering if he'd take what she was going to say wrong, "as much as I love you and really want us to be together, the changes in my life right now are pretty overwhelming, and well in the past when I've felt like things sort of threatening to sweep me away, journaling has helped me maintain my stability," she answered. 

Lennie smiled at her. 

"What? Why are you smiling?" she asked. 

"That was almost exactly my AA sponsor's point when he talked to me tonight," Lennie answered. "He hadn't seen me at the last couple of meetings and I hadn't called him so he wondered if I was OK," Lennie added by way of explaining why his sponsor had called. 

"I began telling him that things were great 'cause the love of my life was finally mine," Lennie said and then stopped for a moment to kiss the top of Anita's head. "And he asks me 'are you working your program?' At first I wanted to yell at the guy. You know, I'm telling him 'hey something wonderful is going on in my life' and all he can do is ask whether I'm working my program. Then he reminds me how often people slip when things are going good. I realized he was right. I was beginning to think, 'I don't need to journal and meditate and go to meetings', Anita's in my life now and so everything will just work out perfectly without any work on my part," Lennie gave a little laugh. 

"Oh, so my being a part of your life was gonna keep you sober like I'm some sort of good luck charm?" Anita asked. 

Lennie ducked his head a bit and then looked at her sort of shyly, "Yeah well, thanks to my sponsor you don't have to worry. I'm not gonna put that responsibility on you. I've put it right back where it belongs, on me with the help of my higher power," Lennie said. 

"Speaking of a higher power you know I think we really should have a conversation about," the phone rang again interrupting Anita, Lennie's first thought was saved by the bell. 

"Wonder who's calling now?" he asked looking at his watch as he picked up the phone again. 

"Hello? Mike, hey long time no hear from," Lennie said and Anita saw one of Lennie's huge grins spread across his face as he talked to Mike Logan. To Anita, Mike was Lennie's 'first' partner though the truth was he'd had several partners before Mike but that was before her time at the 2-7. When she thought about the three men who had been his partners at the 2-7, Mike and he had seemed like big brother little brother, where with Rey and Ed it was more like father and son or at least uncle and nephew. 

"What did Phil tell you?" Lennie asked. 

"Huh, well I really do want to fill you in on what's going on in my life but I think I'd rather do it face to face rather than over the phone. 'Sides I've spent the evening with my ear glued to a phone and I've got better things to do," Lennie said and winked at Anita. 

"Maybe," Lennie said drawing the word out in a teasing manner. 

"Look, I was gonna pick Ed Green up tomorrow for lunch, he's on medical leave and going crazy. How about you join us?" Lennie proposed. 

"Oh yeah, that would be great, uh - I don't have his sister's address here with me. I'll call you tomorrow from the office and give it to you, OK? Great, see ya tomorrow Mike," Lennie said and hung up. 

"OK, that should be the last phone call of the evening, so let's get ready for bed," Lennie suggested. 

Just as they'd started to snuggle up to each other to sleep after having made love, the phone rang again. 

"Definitely letting the machine get this one, " Lennie mumbled. 

"Hey Lennie, sorry to call so late but every time I called I got a busy signal," Rey's voice said from the answering machine. 

Lennie got out of bed and turned to Anita to say, "I better get that, could be important." 

"So anyway I was going see if-," Lennie picked up the phone, effectively cutting Rey off. 

"Hey Rey, what's going on?" Lennie asked and then listened for a moment. 

"That's OK, we weren't asleep yet," Lennie replied. 

"No, I'm not," Lennie answered with a little laugh. He then listened for a bit to something Rey was saying. 

"Tomorrow evening? Uh well," Lennie stalled. A sleepy Anita ambled into the living room. 

"Let me ask her if tomorrow will work for her," Lennie said as he turned to find the woman in question standing next to him in his shirt and only his shirt. 

"Rey says Deborah's feeling pretty good and wants to have us over tomorrow evening. What do you think?" he asked, just a bit distracted by how sexy Anita looked in his shirt. 

"Well, if he knew exactly who he was inviting over and he didn't disapprove, I'd feel a lot better about it," Anita answered. 

"Uh Rey, before I say yes we'll come, I need to tell you who I'd be bringing," Lennie said. He paused long enough for Rey to say something. 

"Uh yeah, how'd you know?" Lennie asked a bit surprised. Anita assumed that Rey must have told him he knew she'd be coming with Lennie. 

"I kind of wondered if you suspected. Are you OK with it?" Lennie asked hopefully. He listened for a bit. 

"Rey, you mean a lot to both of us and I know you're quite a bit more conservative about some things, so I just thought that you might not approve that's all," Lennie explained. 

Lennie was quiet as he paid attention to what Rey was saying. 

"I am and I do, very much," Lennie said and he looked tenderly at Anita. 

"OK we'll be there tomorrow at 7. Good night, Rey," Lennie said. 

"You are and you do what very much?" Anita asked. 

"I am happy and I do love you, very much," he said as he kissed her and then wrapping an arm around her started to walk towards the bedroom. 

"Me too," Anita said around a yawn. 


	9. Ch 9 All My Partners

Lennie's Tuesday was off to a grouchy start, the black man who had disapproved of him and Anita the last time they'd gone jogging was there at the park again and was even more obnoxious. Lennie knew Anita was probably right, ignoring him was the best thing to do, but it made his blood boil. It was just the whole thing about whether anyone else should have a right to comment on their relationship that got him. 

* * *

When they'd gotten to the precinct, aside from having a pile of cold case files to plow through, there was a message from Michaels' office requesting Lennie call. 'Yeah,' Lennie thought, 'I'll just put that right on the top of my to do list'. He procrastinated as much as he dared then gave in and called. He was relieved to find out it was the task force's PAA who wanted to talk to him not Michaels himself. Having been in the NYPD longer than most cops had been alive, Lennie knew what was going on. The PAA was gathering information to be used at a commendation ceremony. 

Lennie had a drawer full of commendations he never wore unless he had to, so he wasn't going to give the PAA much when it came to his part in the operation, but he was going to do his best to see that Ed was recognized for what he'd done. In his opinion, Ed should receive a Medal of Valor if not a Combat Cross. Anita should get a commendation too. Of course it wasn't going to do her any good, she already had a ton of seniority as a lieutenant plus commendations and it wasn't going to get her a promotion. No the NYPD would never forgive her for pointing out its bias. She'd end up retiring at her current rank, which was totally unfair. 

Lennie suddenly remembered that he'd promised to call Mike Logan with Ed's sister's address, so he placed a call to Mike's apartment. He gave him the information and chatted for a bit but refused to give him his big news over the phone. Mike told him to meet him and Ed at the diner closest to the 'house', Lennie knew the one Mike meant and agreed to be there around noon. 

* * *

Mike Logan double-checked the address before approaching the small but neat brownstone townhouse. He rang the bell and an attractive black woman in her late twenties or early thirties answered the door asking him to come in and wait while Ed finished getting ready. Ed Green came down the townhouse's stairs trying vainly to get a sports coat on. 

"Here let me help you with that," Mike offered as he helped get the coat over Ed's left shoulder, helping to conceal at least partially the sling on that arm.. 

"Thanks," Ed said with one of his huge grins. "You must be Mike Logan." 

"And you must be Ed Green," Mike replied with an equally charming grin which Ed's sister noticed. She cleared her throat. 

"Oh man, where are my manners. Mike Logan this is my sister Yasmin Green," Ed said by way of introduction. 

"A beautiful name for a beautiful woman," Mike said in his typically charming way as he took her hand and instead of shaking it, kissed it. 

"Well we better get going. Don't want to keep Lennie waiting, after all he is working today," Ed said as he tried to get the charming and good looking former partner of his current partner away from his little sister. Charlie Green might be beginning to accept his son's occupation but if his daughter started dating a cop there'd be hell to pay. 

As they drove towards the 27th precinct Mike and Ed got to know one another. Mike tried to pump information out of Ed about Lennie's big news but Ed was as tight lipped as Phil had been. Curiosity was burning Mike up, he couldn't wait to get to the diner and talk to Lennie. He decided that if his old partner didn't tell him everything and quickly he'd interrogate the old guy Mike Logan style. 

* * *

John Miller, licensed private investigator, sat in his parked car in an area that afforded him a good view of the precinct's main exit. He hoped Lennie would be leaving for lunch soon and from that door. He couldn't believe his luck in landing this job. A lady had called and asked him to do a background check on Lennie Briscoe. Seems her daughter was getting involved with Lennie and she wanted to know what the guy was like. Seeing as how he'd worked with Lennie many years ago, and considered him a good friend for many years, it wasn't that hard. Of course the fact that he bore Lennie a grudge because of how Lennie had treated his little sister about 15 years back made it even better. 

Miller saw Lennie come out of the station house front door and head off at a brisk walk as though he had an appointment somewhere. 'Damn,' Miller thought to himself as he got out of his car and headed into the station house, 'Lennie's not the babe magnet he was when he was a rookie, but he sure has aged a lot better than I have, especially considering the decade or so he spent in the bottle.' Miller stopped near the sergeant's desk and looked around, getting his bearings. He hadn't been in the 2-7's house very often when he was a cop and those few times had been a long time ago, but he was pretty sure the detective squad was downstairs. 

As Miller made his way downstairs he thought about how he'd go about pumping information out of the detectives that worked with Lennie. He wasn't looking for the stuff he could find in Lennie's service record. Anything official like that he was sure he could get from the friends he still had in the NYPD or maybe from his niece Nicole, but he wanted the things that didn't get into the records. The things the people who worked with you were sure to know. He'd have to get the detectives thinking they were talking to an old pal of Lennie's and if he was willing to tell a few funny stories about Lennie maybe the detectives in his squad would open up to him a bit. 

"Hey, where's Bait?" Miller said as he approached Lennie's desk gesturing towards the detective's nameplate. 

"Excuse me?" Mark Johnson said. 

"Oh sorry, suppose no one has called Lennie that in years," Miller said with a big grin. He then offered Johnson his hand. "John Miller, I used to work with Lennie a long time ago. I'm a PI now, working a case down in this area and thought I'd stop by, see how he's keeping," Miller added. 

"You just missed him. He headed out to lunch with his partner and an ex-partner," Johnson replied. He was a bit suspicious of the old cop turned PI, figuring he'd come in to mooch a favor off of Lennie. 

"What was that you called Briscoe?" Dworkin asked. 

"Bait, it's a nickname we saddled him with back when he was a rookie," Miller replied, a genuine grin splitting his face as he thought about why they called him that and how much Lennie hated the nickname. 

"Why'd you call him Bait?" Johnson asked. Despite his reservations about the guy, he couldn't resist the possibility of hearing a story about Lennie from when the senior detective was a rookie walking a beat. 

"You ever see a picture of Lennie when he was a young guy?" Miller asked and Johnson, Dworkin and Cordova shook their heads. 

"Well, he was a very handsome young man, with that dark hair he wore sort of in an Elvis kind of way and those sleepy blues eyes. What is it you women call 'em?" Miller asked of Ana Cordova. 

Ana blushed a bit and answered, "Bedroom eyes." 

"Yeah, that's it. Well, the first time we invited the rookie to join us at a nightclub after work, we learned that women were attracted to him like bees to honey. So we started taking Lennie with us as often as we could. We'd all wait for him to set his sights on one chic, and then we'd hit on his leftovers," Ana Cordova rolled her eyes at the chic comment, but Miller didn't let that discourage him. "One time after shift was over someone said, 'Hey let's see if Bait wants to go out tonight,' and well the name just sort of stuck, not that Lennie liked it," Miller added. 

Suddenly Miller roared with laughter and the detectives looked at him puzzled. 

"Sorry, I was just remembering when Lennie's nickname turned out to be very inappropriate," Miller said by way of explanation. 

By this time nearly the entire squad was gathered 'round Miller to hear a story about Lennie. 

"Lennie was, I guess about 27, happily married with a little girl he talked about non-stop and his wife was pregnant with their second; he had just been promoted to detective and transferred to vice. Our captain sent the two of us out to collar hookers. So, I, as the more senior partner, tell Lennie to approach the hooker, ask her to have a little party with him and when she names a price, cuff her. He asks me 'what if she doesn't name a price?' I give him some ideas how to encourage the hooker without getting into any entrapment issues. So he walks up to the first gal and I see her smile and shake her head at him. He comes back to the car and I ask him what the problem was. He says real puzzled, 'she knew I was a cop'. We pick another target same results, only this time the girl tells him it might help some if he weren't wearing his wedding ring. So Lennie reluctantly takes his wedding ring off, we try another location, still no collar. He comes back to the car and I ask him what the problem was this time. Lennie, looking totally embarrassed, says when the hooker didn't name a price, he said something about not being sure if he had enough money on him and the gal says, no problem, she'd give him a freebie. Lennie just couldn't get any of the hookers to take him seriously as a John. From then on he sat in the car when we drew those assignments." As Miller concluded his little story all the detectives gathered round were in various stages of uncontrollable laughter. 

"Boy, it's hard to imagine Lennie as happily married," Dworkin commented as the laughter died down. 

Miller got a sad look, as angry as he was at Lennie Briscoe for breaking his little sister's heart, there was a part of him who still remembered the earnest young cop he'd partnered with all those years ago, before Lennie and Gloria lost that second baby and everything seemed to go to hell; back before Lennie started drinking hard. 

"Yeah, I suppose it is. Two failed marriages will tend to make a guy kind of cynical, I suppose," Miller said. 

"Yeah, well at least he's not giving up completely," Sweeney said. 

"What do you mean by that?" Miller asked, glad to see that his plan was working and the young detectives were volunteering information about Lennie. 

"Seems he's got himself a new live-in girlfriend, who is making him pretty happy these days," Sweeney replied. 

"Has he now? Well good for him. Never say die," Miller said. 

Just then Anita walked into the squad room and saw most of her detectives gathered around Lennie's desk, which she thought strange, as she knew Lennie wasn't there but at lunch with Mike and Ed. She gently pushed her way through so she could see who was at Lennie's desk. 

"Oh, hello Lieutenant," Miller said as he quickly glanced at the badge at Anita's waist. "I'm John Miller, I used to partner with Lennie Briscoe a long time ago, and well I just stopped in to see what he was up to nowadays, but seems I've missed him," Miller said by way of explaining his presence. 

"Lt. Anita Van Buren," Anita said as she offered her hand to him. "And yes you did just miss him. His partner has been on medical leave and is getting a bit stir crazy so he's having lunch with him and another of his ex-partners. Too bad you didn't show up sooner, you could have joined them," Anita said trying to be polite, but for some reason being a bit uncomfortable in Miller's presence. 

"I apologize for distracting your detectives. Seems they all like to hear stories about their squad's senior detective's younger days on the force," he added. 

"I bet they do, it's got to be more entertaining than the work they're suppose to be doing," Anita said catching her detectives eyes. They all began fading away towards their own desks. 

"Well, I'd better be going. I'm supposed to be working myself. Tell Lennie I stopped by," Miller said. 

As he left, Miller dropped by Sweeney and Dworkin's desks and told them if they'd like to hear more Lennie stories he'd be at McGinty's that evening, as the case he was working on would keep him in the area. He hoped one or both of them would stop by to give him more information.

* * *

As Lennie walked through the diner's front door Ed and Mike both called out to him and he headed for the booth they were sitting in at the back of the diner. The waitress came over to Lennie to get his order. 

"Hi Lennie, what can I do for you today," Sue, an attractive blonde in her early forties, said in a flirty way. 

Lennie sighed and internally cursed himself, 'Damn, forgot to call Sue to tell her I'm off the market,' he thought. 

"Bring me my usual and a diet coke. And Sue, I'm gonna need to talk to you for a minute before I leave," Lennie said, saying the latter in a very serious tone. 

"There's nothing wrong is there?" she asked. 

"Depends on your point of view I suppose," he said hoping Susie wouldn't take things too hard; after all he'd only been out with her a few times. 

Sue frowned and then went to put Lennie's order in. 

"What was that about?" Mike Logan asked. 

Before Lennie could answer Ed asked, "She doesn't know about your new status does she?" 

Lennie shook his head. 

"OK, are you gonna tell me what's up or do I need to walk you back to the 2-7 and ask Van Buren to let me borrow an interrogation room?" Mike asked. 

Lennie and Ed both laughed. 

"Can I tell him? Please?" Ed begged with a huge grin. 

Sue brought Lennie's diet coke and gave him a strange look. When she left he nodded to Ed and said, "Sure why not, go ahead tell him what you know." 

"Well Mike, I don't know that Van Buren would lend you that room 'cause I doubt she'd appreciate you interrogating her lover," Ed Green said with a wicked little grin. 

Unfortunately for Mike he'd just taken a drink of his ice tea, which he now proceeded to choke on. When he stopped coughing he looked at Lennie long and hard and finally asked in stunned disbelief, "you and the lieutenant?" 

Lennie grinned and said, "yep, me and the lieutenant." 

"When, how?" Mike asked slowly. He didn't ask why, Mike had known that Lennie was enamored of their lady boss from day one. Mike also had known it was a two way street, but he had never told Lennie that because he didn't want to see his partner and boss involved in what he thought would have been a destructive affair. He still wasn't sure it was a good idea, but he looked at Lennie and thought he'd never seen the guy look happier. 

Lennie explained about the dinner he had with Anita after she got her preliminary divorce papers and then with Ed's help retold the story of the undercover assignment. Somewhere in the midst of his explanation, Sue brought their lunch orders and Lennie clammed up long enough for her to get out of earshot. Lennie told both men about Anita and him going to see his daughter and her family and the plans they had for him to meet Anita's mother and sister, for Anita to meet his mother and brother and his plans to meet with Anita's sons while she was in Santa Domingo getting her quick divorce. 

When Lennie finally seemed to have said all he was going to, Mike had to voice his concerns. 

"So Lennie, are you going to transfer out of the 2-7 or retire or what?" he asked. Ed sat up a bit straighter; as this was something he was very interested in knowing. He wasn't ready to give up being Lennie's partner just yet. 

"Neither, we're hoping to just keep our relationship private. The officers who did my OIS review are together and they told us all the IAB officers have an unwritten policy about fraternization. As long as no one brings a couple's relationship to IAB's attention they aren't gonna go looking for it," Lennie explained. 

"So you're just gonna hope no one finds out or that if they do they don't mind?" Mike asked sounding skeptical. 

"That's right. I suspect we'll have to rely on the latter 'cause we do work with a bunch of detectives and they've already figured out that I've got a new live-in," Lennie responded. 

"You two are living together?" Mike asked further shocked. 

"Yeah, we've been staying at my place but next week we switch over to her place for a couple of weeks," Lennie explained. 

"How's come?" Ed asked. 

"That's the deal Anita made with her soon to be ex. Until her youngest son Stefan finishes high school, she and Don will switch out living at their house every two weeks," Lennie answered. 

"Sounds like that will be easier on the kid but what about you?" Mike asked. 

"I don't care where I am as long as I'm with her," Lennie answered. 

"God, you've got it bad!" Mike said with a laugh. 

"Actually, I've got the best I've ever had," Lennie told him with a big grin. 

"Well, I guess you were right after all," Mike said. 

"About what?" Lennie asked as he prepared to take another bite out of his sandwich. 

"Well, the first time you saw her you said she might be the next Mrs. Briscoe," Mike replied with a smile. 

Lennie laughed and sat back more in the booth. "God, I'd almost forgotten that," he said sounding surprised. 

"What? " Ed said with an expectant grin on his face. 

Mike sat back too and crossed his arms getting into his story telling mode. 

"We had caught a case in the early hours of the morning and then stopped at a diner for breakfast before heading into work. While there we'd gotten into a discussion of what it was we liked in a woman. Lennie was trying to make his point that he didn't always fall for what Hollywood or the fashion magazines tried to push. So he says 'Look, I don't want one of these anorexic supermodels with their silicone ta tas," Ed grinned at Lennie and nodded his head thinking about Lennie's comment 'plastic cools my engine'. 

"He says 'I want a real woman whose tits and ass are a gift from Mother Nature,'" Mike did a fair job of imitating his old partner's voice and mannerisms. 

"I countered his argument saying the gals with the big boobs he liked usually had big asses too. So he comes back with 'Yeah, well a boney guy like me doesn't mind that 'cause somebody in the bed's gotta have some padding,'" Ed looked at his partner who was looking a bit embarrassed. 

"So then when we pull into the station house's parking lot, and he suddenly gets all enthused says 'Oh man, talk about T&A - and a pretty face and great legs too!' I look where Lennie's looking and I see this attractive black woman reach for the door to the station house. Before I could say anything Lennie was out of the car and hustling across the street as fast as his legs would carry him without actually breaking into a jog. I was almost out of breath trying to catch up. And I ask him 'Where you going so fast?' He says, 'To see if I can get her name and phone number. If she's got a brain and a sense of humor she just might be the next Mrs. Briscoe,' God, you should have seen the smirk on this guy's face, talk about wolves," Mike said really getting into the story. 

"So then I remembered he'd finally gotten Rodgers to agree to go out with him, so I ask him, 'Hey wait a minute, don't you finally have a date with a certain redheaded ME tonight?' He says, 'Yeah, well that's tonight, a guy's got to plan for the future,' all the while Lennie's keeping Anita in his sights. We were gaining on her but pulled up short when we saw her go into the squad room and make a beeline for Don Cragen's office, he was our boss at the time. About a minute later Cragen came out and called everybody around to meet his replacement, Lieutenant Anita van Buren. I had to bite my lip to keep from cracking up," Mike related. 

"Later I couldn't help but tease Lennie about it. So I asked him 'Are you going to ask the new boss lady for her phone number, Lennie?' He says kind of sad like 'Don't think her husband would approve,'" again Mike was mimicking Lennie's delivery. 

"I couldn't leave it at that so I say, 'Oh, so you did notice the wedding ring?' And Lennie says 'Yeah, but if she wasn't my boss and she wasn't already married she'd be perfect.' You should have seen the look on his face," Mike said as he finished his story. 

"Uh Mike, do an old partner a favor and never ever tell Anita that story, at least not the T&A part," Lennie said and his expression said to Mike and Ed that he was thinking of what Anita would do if she ever heard that story just the way Mike had told it. Mike smirked and nodded agreement. 

"Wait now, I gotta get straight on a couple of things, first off you never told me it was love at first sight. And second, you dated Rodgers?" Ed asked in disbelief. 

"You never asked and yes, I dated Rodgers, for a couple of months about 10 years ago, and like a lot of my ex-girlfriends, we're still friends," Lennie answered. 

"So Lennie, are you gonna make her Mrs. Briscoe number 3?" Mike asked. 

Lennie blew out a breath, he was hesitant to answer that question. In some ways he'd like to be totally honest with the guys sitting across from him but he wasn't sure it was the right time to 'put all his cards on the table'. He shrugged his shoulders. 

"I want to, despite the fact that I'm afraid it would just mess up what we've got," Lennie paused for a moment, and then plunged ahead. "Hell, I may not have much choice in the matter," Lennie said a bit cryptically. 

"What do you mean?" Mike and Ed chorused, and then grinned at each other. 

Lennie looked down at his hands for a bit then looked back up at his former and current partners' expectant faces. 

"Well," Lennie started and then paused again. 

"What? Oh no, you're not saying what I think you're saying are you?" Mike asked. 

"'Fraid so," Lennie admitted. 

"How?" Mike asked. 

"How? Uh, Mike I think you know how," Lennie said while laughing. 

"Well, of course I know how, but I mean surely you and Anita," Mike couldn't quite bring himself to say more. 

"What? Are old enough to know better?" Lennie asked. 

"Well, I wouldn't have put it quite that way but," Mike didn't say more as he didn't want to hurt his old partner's feelings. 

"Look it's real simple, we sort of forgot to have an important conversation, and then for a while there each of us thought that there was probably no reason to have that particular conversation. By the time we realized we were making erroneous assumptions, well it was too late to do much more than just wait and see," Lennie said. 

"How much longer you gotta wait?" Mike asked. 

"Should know by my birthday," Lennie answered. 

"That's this coming Monday isn't it?" Ed asked and Lennie nodded. 

"How do you feel about it?" Mike asked. 

"Well since you asked how I feel about it I can tell you I'd love for Anita to be pregnant, to have my baby. Now, if you'd asked me what I think of the situation, I'd give you a totally different answer. Remember what I said about a month ago when Letterman announced he was gonna be a father?" Lennie asked Ed. 

"Yeah, you said 'what kind of idiot fathers a kid at his age," Ed answered. 

"Well I'm six months older than Letterman," Lennie responded. 

"So your head and your heart aren't exactly in agreement on this issue?" Mike asked. 

"Yeah, and I'm pretty sure no matter what, whether she is or she isn't, I'm gonna have mixed feelings," Lennie answered. 

"How does she feel about it?" Ed asked. 

"About the same as I do. We both know all the reasons why a couple our age, and well with all the stuff we have going against us, shouldn't have a kid, but its what we both want in our hearts," Lennie responded, shaking his head slightly. 

"Well, it will sure be harder to hide your relationship if she's having your baby," Mike observed. 

"Yeah, first time she tries to go out on the street and help work a case while pg you'll come unglued about it, won't you partner?" Ed asked. 

"First time maybe not, but I suspect eventually we'd have a blow out over that sort of thing," Lennie admitted freely. 

"Have you had your first fight?" Mike asked. 

Lennie shrugged. "We've had a couple of little scraps, and then a couple of nights ago I let the machine catch a call, it was an old girlfriend of mine wondering where I'd been lately. Anita got really jealous, took me most of the evening to get her back in a good mood," Lennie told his partners. 

"So that's why you want to talk to Sue, huh?" Ed said. 

"Yeah, thing is, Anita's kind of insecure when it comes to me and other women, so I've been talking to any of the gals I used to date letting them know I'm permanently out of circulation," Lennie answered. 

"How they taking the news? I mean anybody I ought be comforting besides our waitress?" Mike asked leaning forward conspiratorially. 

Lennie smiled, pointed at Mike and said. "That's the Mike Logan I remember." 

Ed glanced at his watch. "Hey, I think maybe we better let Lennie get back to work before his boss gets mad at him for taking too long a lunch break," he said in a teasing tone. 

"You think it's funny but she's not gonna cut me any slack because that would be a way to make people want to report us to IA," Lennie retorted. 

Mike grabbed the check when Sue brought it by and he and Ed cleared out for a minute to let Lennie talk to Sue. They both kept an eye on Lennie as he talked to the waitress. They could see she looked disappointed but she reached up and gave Lennie a kiss on the cheek, which seemed to speak well of their parting. 

When Lennie caught up with the two younger men Ed asked, "how'd Sue take the news?" 

"She was a bit disappointed but wished me good luck," Lennie answered. 

Lennie walked the two guys to Mike's car and Mike asked Ed if he minded if he had a private word with Lennie. Ed said no and slid into Mike's car on the passenger's side to make himself comfortable while the two other men talked. 

"So what's on your mind?" Lennie asked Mike. 

"You and how you're really doing," Mike said with true concern for his old partner. 

"I'm great," Lennie answered. 

"Yeah, well I'm just thinking all these changes in your life could add up to some real stress and," Lennie interrupted Mike. 

"And you're worried that could cause me to fall off the wagon. Mike, I've already had this conversation with my AA sponsor. And yeah, at first I was getting a little cocky and letting my program slide, but I cut that out. 'Cause the last thing I want to do is mess up my sobriety because without it, I loose everything else that's important," Lennie reassured Mike. 

"OK, hey give me a call if you need a groomsman," Mike said as he opened the driver's door on his car. Lennie nodded and then headed back to the station house. 

* * *

Lennie managed to get back to his desk just about ten minutes late. 

"Detective Briscoe, I'd like to see you in my office," Anita said trying to sound gruff. 

Lennie looked at the others in the squad room, shrugged his shoulders and silently mouthed 'ten minutes', he then turned and said, "Yes ma'am. 

"Are you actually going to chew me out for being ten minutes late?" Lennie asked as he closed her office door. 

"Well I wasn't until you brought it up," Anita said with a smile. 

"When will I learn to keep my big mouth shut?" Lennie said and Anita simply lifted her eyebrows at him. 

"So what's up?" Lennie asked. 

"Just thought I'd tell you an old friend of yours dropped by while you were out with Ed and Mike," Anita replied. 

"Oh, who would that be?" Lennie asked. 

"John Miller, said he was a former partner," Anita answered in a questioning manner. 

"Johnny said we were friends?" Lennie asked skeptically. 

"Uh no, I guess I just assumed you two were friends. I mean when I came into the squad room Miller had everyone gathered round him and he apologized for distracting them with stories of your younger days on the force." Anita explained and then asked, "Are you saying you aren't friends?" 

"Well, we were. For a good twenty years I considered him one of my best friends, but then about 15 years ago we had a major falling out. Hell, the last time I saw Johnny he left me with a black eye, split lip and a couple of broken ribs," Lennie answered. 

"Wow, what did you do to deserve all that?" Anita asked. 

"Well, it was just after my second divorce and I was drinking pretty hard. I took up with this attractive young divorcée, who I didn't realize was Johnny's kid sister. She started getting too serious and I broke it off. She took it real hard, although that wasn't really all about me" Lennie said. 

"How hard is hard?" Anita asked. 

"She OD'ed. I don't think she was really trying to kill herself. Katie was drinking wine and taking sleeping pills, a real stupid combination. I think she just lost track of how much she had taken. Anyway Johnny blamed me," Lennie explained. 

"Then I've got to wonder what he was doing here," Anita said. 

"You know it could be nothing, maybe Johnny's finally decided to just let bygones by bygones. Katie certainly has, we talked it over a long time ago, when I first got sober," Lennie said. Anita realized that conversation had probably been a part of his 12 steps program, the part about making amends. 

"But, you're not so sure about him are you?" Anita asked. 

"No, Johnny always was the sort to bear a grudge," Lennie said shaking his head. 

"Maybe you ought to ask the other detectives what he talked to them about," Anita suggested and Lennie nodded. 

Lennie went back into the squad room and began getting information from the other detectives about Miller's visit. They told him about the couple of stories Miler had told them and Dworkin told Lennie that Miller had said he would be at McGinty's that night. Lennie then told the rest of the detectives what he'd told Anita. He was a bit uneasy talking about something that had happened back in the days he'd been drinking hard, but none of the other detectives seemed to want to pass judgment on him. Lennie checked his watch and left quickly for his next IT class; it was on using the Internet. 

After he left, the rest of the detectives decided to go see Miller at McGinty's after work, and without letting him know that they'd been cued into his bias against Lennie, tell him anecdote after anecdote to prove their point that Lennie was a great guy. 

* * *

Lennie sighed as he unlocked the apartment door and held it open for Anita. He went through his ritual of removing his gun and putting it in the lock box, adding Anita's gun in with his. 

"If it weren't Rey and Deborah and the girls we were going to see tonight I'd try to beg off," Lennie said. 

"Why?" Anita asked as she stepped out of her pumps and started getting out of her office clothes. 

"I just realized that what with going to Rey's tonight and having dinner with Garcia and Miller tomorrow night we aren't gonna get much time alone together before you go down to Santa Domingo," Lennie answered also starting to get undressed. 

"I'll only be gone a little over 24 hours," Anita responded. 

"I know, it's just that, well since we've been together, well, we've been together. We haven't been apart more than a few hours in the last twelve days," Lennie said. 

"Then maybe it's a good thing I'm going to Santa Domingo," Anita said as she headed for the bathroom to take a shower. Lennie followed her. 

"Why would you say that?" Lennie said sounding worried. 

"You know what they say 'absence makes the heart grow fonder'," she said. 

Lennie just stared at her with a hungry look in his eyes. 

"Something I can do for you, mister?" she asked as she stood in her panties and bra in front of the shower, adjusting the water temperature. 

"Share your shower with me?" Lennie asked as he reached out to undo her bra. 

"Only if you can stand the water as hot as I like it," she answered, slipping out of her panties and stepping into the shower. 

"I'll manage somehow," Lennie replied as he dropped his boxers and joined her in the shower. 

'Sharing a shower' took a lot longer than two solo showers would have and they were both pretty well spent by the time the water started feeling a bit chilly. They cuddled for a while on the bed and then realized if they didn't get dressed quickly and get on the road they'd be late. 

* * *

Although they were running late Anita insisted they bring something to Rey and Deborah, so Lennie dashed into the nearest supermarket and found a nice spray of flowers. As they drove into the driveway of the Curtis' house, Rey's daughters all excitedly exited the house to greet 'Uncle Lennie'. 

"Wow, what a greeting," Lennie said as he hugged the girls and flashed the beautiful smile that endeared him so to them. 

"Let me look at you," Lennie said as he took each girl in turn by the hand and had her revolve around as though he were dancing with her. 

"LT, it's great to see you," Rey said as he came out of the house and gave her a hug. 

"Rey, what deal did you make to get heaven to loan you these angels?" 

"I'll never tell," Rey said with a laugh. 

The girls began to escort "Uncle Lennie" into the house, "Uh, ladies as wonderful as it is to have you surrounding me, I 'd really rather escort the lady I brought with me," Lennie said as he dropped back and clasped Anita's hand. 

"Oh of course, Uncle Lennie, we should have realized that," Olivia said as everyone went inside. Deborah asked Serena to put the flowers in a vase on the dining room table, while Rey put their jackets away. Lennie couldn't get over how good Deborah looked. He'd seen her more often than Anita had since Rey's departure from the 2-7, but even he was amazed at how far her latest remission had allowed her to comeback. She was in a wheelchair but she seemed energetic and her hands were very capable of doing the things she wanted to do. 

They made awkward small talk for a while as Anita and Lennie tried to figure out if Rey and Deborah were really OK with their relationship and how the girls viewed things. Just before they were going to move to the dining room, young Isabel cocked her head to one side studying Lennie and Anita. After a moment she reached down for their hands and said, "Your hands look nice together like vanilla toffee and milk chocolate." 

The adults and Olivia, who at 15 thought of herself as a grownup, all smiled and somehow the tension was gone, and then they were all just family visiting each other, enjoying a meal and chatting about the events of their lives. 

"Lieutenant Van Buren?" Rey's middle girl said tentatively. 

"Yes, Serena?" Anita replied. 

"When Uncle Lennie's at work he's Detective Briscoe and when you're at work you're Lieutenant Van Buren but when you're not at work who are you?" the young woman asked. 

Anita wondered if Serena realized how deep that question was but decided to take it as a request for a less formal way to address her. 

"Well, usually when I'm not at work I'm Mom or Mrs. Van Buren, although that's gonna stop pretty soon. You know I suppose you could call me Aunt Anita if you'd like." Anita suggested and then looked at the girls, they all seemed pleased with the idea. 

"What did you mean 'that's gonna stop pretty soon'?" Rey asked. 

"Well, when I get my divorce I'm taking back my maiden name – Harris," Anita replied. 

"Hey, there might be a really good reason for doing that," Lennie suddenly said. 

"Oh, why's that?" Deborah asked. 

"Well, the NYPD seems to have this problem with promoting Lt. Van Buren, but maybe they'll slip up and promote Lt. Harris," Lennie explained. 

"Oh, it would be about time," Rey said 

Lennie, Anita and Rey got into a discussion about the NYPD and all the dichotomies of working there, underpaid compared to the cops in neighboring jurisdictions, overworked because they were short manpower due to all the reservist called up to Iraq and Afghanistan and the capriciousness of the department's upper echelons when it came to not promoting Anita. 

"Well you ought to just retire, move to Jersey and start working there. Bet they'd make you a captain," Rey suggested adding the last bit to make sure Lennie and Anita realized his suggestion was for her. He knew Lennie wouldn't retire from the NYPD because no other PD would hire him in at his age and Lennie once told him the only way he'd give up his badge before mandatory retirement age was if they took it off his dead body. 

Lennie noticed that the girls seemed politely bored, so he began drawing them out, sort of a version of his good cop routine in the interrogation room, and true to form he got a confession, even though he hadn't really meant to. 

"Olivia, you're not mad at your old Uncle Lennie now are you?" Lennie asked caught between humor and the thought that this beautiful young woman, who he'd watched grow up, might actually be mad at him because he'd gotten her to admit there was a boy she was sweet on and her parents were absolutely against her dating before she was 16. 

"No Uncle Lennie, I know you didn't mean to get me into trouble with Mom and Dad. If my parents weren't so Victorian it wouldn't be a big deal anyway," Olivia said dramatically. 

"Olivia," Rey said in that parental way that every child knows means drop it or get in really big trouble. 

"Oh, all right Daddy, can I be excused now I've got some homework to do?" the eldest Curtis daughter asked. Her sisters each chimed in with similar requests and were told to clear the table and start the dishwasher and then they could go do their "homework". The girls made quick work of the chores and then each dropped by the dining room table to give hugs and kisses to their parents and guests. 

Rey helped Deborah move to the living room as she explained that she was sure her daughters were more interested in getting on the phone or Internet with friends than doing homework. 

"Lord, getting on the phone around her must be tough with two teenage girls and a preteen," Lennie said thinking back to his own girls' teen years. 

"Nope it's not hard at all, they each have cell phones with no long distance and a curfew on each line. We pay for a certain number of minutes a month-if they go over they have to pay the difference from their allowances," Rey explained. 

"Aren't you glad you're both done with parenting?" Deborah asked. 

Lennie and Anita gave each other looks that Rey and Deborah didn't miss but didn't comment on at the time. They continued to visit and after a while Rey found an excuse to get Lennie off by himself in the den. 

* * *

"So what do you think Rey? And don't pull your punches," Lennie requested. 

"Look Lennie, I'm sure you know all the pros and cons of this relationship and heck you're both adults you don't need anyone's permission or approval," Rey began. 

"No we don't, but I guess I'd like it if my former partner didn't disapprove," Lennie said sounding a bit hurt. He started to leave the room. 

"Lennie," Rey said in a tone intend to stop the older man's exit. 

"I said you didn't need approval not that I didn't approve. I told you the other night as long as you're happy and you love her, it's OK with me, didn't you believe me?" Rey asked and Lennie shrugged his shoulders. 

"If Deborah and I didn't approve of you two being together we wouldn't have invited you into our home. So stop worrying about it, I'm not gonna be running to IA about you two. Of course I do need to warn you, if you ever hurt LT, I'll have to come bust your beak," Rey said with great affection. 

Lennie smiled and shook his head a bit. "Where'd that tight-assed, self-righteous, hot-head I used to work with get off to?" Lennie asked. 

"He lived in a glass house for a while, remember?" Rey responded and Lennie nodded. 

"Hey, what was with that look you and Anita gave each other when Deborah said you two were done with parenting?" he asked. 

"Uh, we might not be," Lennie admitted reluctantly. 

"What?" Rey asked so loudly that Lennie wondered whether the rest of the household would come in to check on them. 

Lennie sighed and went through the same conversation he'd had with Brian and Mike and Ed. He began to realize that going over and over this same ground was affecting him. He was having to go though the pros and cons repetitively and it was making him second guess himself, that and the fact that he'd spent the second half of his Internet class searching on pregnancies in women over forty. He'd found a lot of statistics and some of them disturbed him. 

"There's something more isn't there?"Rey asked hoping to get Lennie to open up just a little more. 

"Yeah, I took this damn IT class on the Internet and I spent about an hour looking up stuff about pregnancies in women over forty. In some ways it was good to know the odds of various things happening but…" Lennie trailed off. 

"What sort of odds?" Rey asked. 

Lennie the inveterate gambler began giving odds, "We've got a lot of slim chances, some of them good and some bad, most of them come down to 20 to 1, in other words 1 chance in 20. There's 1 chance in 20 she's pregnant and it's 20 to 1 that if she does carry to full term the baby will be perfectly fine - no genetic defects. There's also 1 chance in 20 that if she's pregnant she's carrying twins. The one statistic that bothers me most is that if she's pregnant, odds are only 3 to 2 she'll carry the baby beyond the first trimester," Lennie sat down after he rattled off the odds. Until he'd said them out loud he hadn't realized how bad they sounded. Rey could see his former partner was shaken by what he'd discovered during his Internet surfing. 

"There are three kinds of lies, Lennie, lies" Rey began. 

"Damn lies and statistics," Lennie finished the quote. 

"Look it's good you know what the odds are, but you're a gambler Lennie, what do you know about odds?" Rey asked. 

"The odds are what the odds are but that doesn't mean that because the odds are against you that you won't win a particular bet," Lennie said with a small grin. 

"And you know what, if the odds were always right, Deborah wouldn't be sitting in there gabbing with Anita now. You remember how bad she was when I quit the 2-7?" Rey asked. 

"Yeah I know, I couldn't believe how much better she seems," Lennie remarked. 

"Miracles do happen Lennie. Lots of prayer and some new meds and I feel like I've been given back my wife, and my girls have their Mom back," Rey said. 

Just then Anita stuck her head in the den. 

"Hey you two, Olivia and I helped Deborah get to bed and I'm thinking maybe we ought to be going. We both do have to work tomorrow you know," she reminded Lennie. 

"All right but don't be strangers and keep me posted," Rey requested. 

* * *

"I'm glad I don't have too many more former partners that I'm still on good terms with," Lennie said, that night as they lay spooned together in bed. 

"Why's that?" Anita said around a yawn. 

"I'm getting tired of explaining how we got together and about your possibly being pregnant," Lennie answered. 

"You told Ed and Mike and Rey?" Anita said suddenly wide-awake. 

"Yeah well, "Lennie began. 

"How could you?" she asked, Lennie wasn't sure if she was angry at him or what as she'd suddenly started crying, which disconcerted him. 

"Baby, please don't cry. I'm sorry, it's not like I'm telling everyone. Ed, Mike and Rey they're like family to me," he tried to explain. 

"Yes, well I haven't told my family yet and I don't intend to until I'm not only sure I'm pregnant but that I'm past the risk of miscarrying," she said vehemently. 

Suddenly Lennie realized he wasn't the only one who'd probably been surfing the net for information. He held her to him and tried his best to soothe her. They talked through a good part of the night about their fears and their hopes. 

  



	10. Ch 10 Busted

Ch 10   
Lennie knew Anita would probably be upset with him for letting her sleep in, but they'd talked until the wee hours of the morning and he wanted her to be rested for the sake of the baby she might be carrying. He knew he could get through the day by downing lots of coffee, but that wouldn't be a good idea for her. Lennie had been amazed that he'd been able to slip her off her normal pillow, his right shoulder, and slip out of bed without waking her, probably an indication of how tired she really was. He turned off the alarm and got ready to go into work as quietly as he could. He'd leave her a note on the bathroom mirror. He made sure there was orange juice made up and put out some non-perishable things on the kitchen table that she might find interesting for breakfast - cereal, English muffins, jam, fresh fruit. He put out a place setting for her and put a multi-vitamin in the middle of the plate. Then Lennie sat down and tried to think what to write in his note. 

Anita, 

I know you're probably mad at me for letting you sleep in, but your getting enough rest is very important now and you really can't substitute coffee for sleep anymore. I'll cover for you at work so don't worry. Call me on my cell phone and let me know when you're going to come in or maybe you can take the day off? And please no matter what have a healthy breakfast. 

Love,  
Lennie  
  


* * *

"Where's Lt. Van Buren," Sweeney asked as he filled his coffee cup. 

"Haven't seen her here yet, maybe she's got a meeting at the Plaza or One Hogan. Did you need her for something?" Lennie asked. 

"Uh, no I was just going to run an idea past her on this investigation my partner and I are in the middle of, but I guess I can show it to you. Give you some practice for Friday," Sweeney said. 

Lennie listened to Sweeney's idea. It was one of those police tricks that were in the grey area. Lennie thought about it for a while, he was well known for cutting corners himself but if he was going to pinch hit for Anita he needed to think a bit more like her and rein Sweeney in. He advised the other detective to try and find a more legitimate way to get the evidence he was after. Sweeney looked at Lennie like he'd grown another head or something. 

"Look I know that advise doesn't sound like it's coming from Lennie cut a corner' Briscoe and maybe it's not. I'm pinch-hitting for the lieutenant here and I'm trying to think of what she'd have you do or not do. Go out and work some other leads and maybe something will let you get at this in a totally legitimate way. If not, well then you can do it your way," Lennie said and Sweeney reluctantly agreed.

* * *

Anita stretched and instinctively felt for Lennie. He wasn't there, that realization brought her wide-awake and she became aware of the light level in the bedroom. It was far too bright to be any where near the time she normally awoke. She checked the alarm clock by the bedside, it was almost 9 AM, she was late for work and the alarm had been shut off. She'd wring Lennie's neck when she saw him. 

She got out of bed and at the insistence of her bladder made a beeline for the bathroom. That's when she saw his note. How was she supposed to stay mad at the man when he was so sweet to her? She finished up her business, took a shower and dressed, and then decided to give in to his insistence that she eat a good breakfast, that's when she saw all the food choices he'd left her and the multi-vitamin on the plate. God love the man but he was cute. He was also probably going to be one of those men who drove his woman nuts during a pregnancy by being overly protective. As she sat down to eat her healthy breakfast she placed a phone call to Lennie's cell phone from hers.

* * *

Lennie's cell phone rang. He hoped it was Anita, and in case it was, he started walking towards an empty interrogation room so he could have some privacy to talk to her. 

"Briscoe," he said as he reached the empty interrogation room. 

"Hey you, how's it going? Are all the mice playing?" Anita asked him 

"Nope. I told you I'd cover for you and I already have," Lennie answered. 

"Oh how'd you do that?" Anita asked. 

Lennie explained about redirecting Sweeney away from a dubious police technique on a case he was working on. 

"You told him not to do it?" Anita asked with disbelief. 

"Yeah, and man did he give me a weird look. But I told him if I was substituting for you I had to try to do things the way you would," Lennie replied. 

"So how do you like running the circus?" Anita asked. 

"Uh, well if I said please come in, so I can just be one of the clowns would you get my drift?" he asked. 

"Yes, and I will be in as soon as I finish my breakfast, and Lennie-" 

"Yeah? 

"You ever let me sleep in again, you will be doing your sleeping on the couch. Do we understand each other?" she asked with a teasing menace. 

"Yes, I love you too, baby," Lennie answered. 

Ana Cordova hadn't been sure what to do when she walked in, in the middle of Lennie talking about Sweeney. He hadn't noticed her and she was afraid if she left then he would notice. So she just stood still and listened to his side of the conversation. She'd have to be brain-dead not to know he was talking to the Lieutenant, and of course the tone of his voice and some of what he said just confirmed what she already knew about Lennie and the Lieutenant, but as of yet they didn't know that she and the rest of the squad knew about them. 

"I missed having you next to me this morning," Anita told Lennie. 

"Yeah, well I always find it hard to leave you in the morning, but I really did think you should have more sleep," he replied. 

"Well, I guess I probably did need it. I'd better get off now. I'll call my PAA and let her know I'm OK and will be in. I'll see you soon. 

"Ok, love you," Lennie said before he ended the call and put his cell phone away. 

Ana tried to pretend to have just entered the room, "Oh, there you are. Sweeney said you were covering for Van Buren." 

Lennie had spent more years figuring out when people were faking things than Ana had been alive. He knew she hadn't just walked into the room. He was torn, should he call her on her eavesdropping or pretend it hadn't happened. Maybe this was a 'don't ask don't tell' situation. He sighed. 

"How long have you been standing there, Ana?" Lennie asked, suddenly deciding to just 'take the bull by the horns'. 

Ana realized from the quiet tone in Lennie's voice that he hadn't bought her act 

"A while, look don't worry. I've known about you and the Lieutenant since the night Eddie was shot," Ana told him. 

Ana was sure she'd never seen that much of Lennie's eyes before, he was truly startled. 

"You've known about us? How?" Lennie asked. 

"Mark and I went down to the hospital after shift that night to see how Eddie was and we saw the two of you kissing," she answered. 

"And you decided not to say anything?" Lennie asked, a bit disbelieving. 

"Yeah, I convinced Mark that there wasn't any reason to say anything. I mean I felt sure that you and Anita could have a relationship and do your jobs and, well keep the two things separate," she explained. 

"And you didn't have a problem with the fact that Anita's still married?" Lennie asked. 

"Well, I knew her marriage had been over for a long time and she was finally getting around to a divorce. I figured it was that and the case you were working that finally got the two of you together," Ana answered. 

"You knew about Anita's divorce?" Lennie asked incredulously. 

"Sure. Women talk about those kind of things sometimes, you know," she answered off-handedly. 

Lennie still looked skeptical. 

"Hey, I not only knew about the condition of her marriage, but I'd been pretty sure for the last couple of years that you had a crush on her," Ana added smugly. 

"Oh really, how'd you come to that conclusion?" Lennie challenged. 

"Well, for a tough New York City cop, you have this sort of old-fashioned courteousness, particularly where women are concerned. At first I thought that was all it was, but then I realized as polite as you were to most any woman, the lieutenant received an extra measure of attentiveness from you, and well, you're just not the type to suck up to the boss," Cordova explained. 

"Working with a bunch of detectives it's pretty hard to hide anything. I suppose eventually everyone will figure it out," Lennie said with a sigh. 

"What makes you think they haven't figured it out already?" Ana asked. 

"Huh?" Lennie asked inarticulately. 

"The whole squad knows," Ana told Lennie. 

"How'd they find out?" Lennie asked, clearly accusing her of something. 

"Well, after they figured out you had a new girlfriend they started pressing everyone about what they knew and…" 

"And you sang like a canary," Lennie concluded. He couldn't be mad at her because she looked so contrite, so he shook his head and grinned at her. 

"Look, everybody is cool with this, we were going to let you know on your birthday anyway," Ana told Lennie. 

Lennie sighed. "Now there's a thought, everyone in the squad room saying 'Happy Birthday Lennie, and oh, by the way, we know you're sleeping with the boss'," he said with a touch of his patented sardonic humor. 

"That's not how we were going to handle it. Would you prefer everyone knew but didn't let you and the lieutenant know they knew?" she asked realizing at the last second how awkward the question sounded. 

"No, I guess it's better this way, but now I think I'm beginning to know why so many organizations have anti-fraternization regs," Lennie answered. 

"What? Are you saying you think you and the Lieutenant are wrong to be involved?" Ana asked very surprised. 

Lennie shook his head; he'd never say that his loving Anita was wrong. "No, it's just that I'm beginning to see how two people in a small work group being involved could have an impact on how the others in the group interact with them and each other," Lennie admitted. 

"Yeah, for a little while people will think twice about things they say or do because they wonder whether you or the lieutenant might take offense, but as soon as everyone gets used to the new situation things will go back to business as usual," Ana assured him. 

"Maybe," Lennie said thinking his colleagues might not be so comfortable if Anita was pregnant. 

"Now did you actually come in here to ask me something or not?" he said and soon they were enmeshed in a discussion of the Cameron case. 

* * *

When Lennie returned to the squad room he looked around at the other detectives as they worked. Some were writing up DD5s, others were working phone leads or sifting through financial statements and LUDs for clues on the various active cases in which they were involved. Over the years the faces in the squad room had changed, just as the face across the desk from him had changed. He liked this group of detectives but he didn't socialize with them much. With the exception of Sweeney, they were all young enough to be his kids, but he didn't really feel fatherly towards any of them, maybe he did feel a bit protective of them, like a much older brother or an uncle would, and he was always willing to teach them things and give them the benefit of his years of experience, if they wanted it. He'd sure raise hell if anyone hurt one of them or so much as suggested they were guilty of being anything but New York's finest. He'd trust any of them to take his back, and, although he didn't like to admit it, the one thing that worried him enough to give him nightmares was that one day one of them, most likely Ed, would get hurt because he was just getting to old to be on the streets anymore, too old to back them up like he ought to. 

"Everything OK, Lennie?" Dworkin asked. 

"I don't know. I'm trying to get used to the idea that all of you know way too much about my personal life," Lennie answered. At his comment several heads shot up. 

"What do you mean?" Patterson asked nervously. 

"The squad's pretty little canary told me you all know about me and the Lieutenant," Lennie answered motioning towards Ana Cordova with his head as he did. 

"Cordova! I thought we were gonna wait and tell him at his birthday party." Sweeney bellowed. 

"Tell him what at his birthday party?" Anita asked as she walked into the squad room. 

"That they know about us," Lennie answered and Anita blanched. 

"We're all OK with it Lieutenant," Mendoza quickly interjected to try and ease Anita's obvious distress. 

"Yeah, well we're OK with it as long as Lennie treats you right," Dworkin added looking right at Lennie. Lennie wasn't entirely sure that Dworkin was teasing 

"And as long as you avoid PDAs and TMI," Johnson chimed in with additional conditions. 

"PDAs and TMI?" Anita asked in confusion. 

"Public Displays of Affection and Too Much Information," Ana translated. 

"We'll try not to scare the horses," Lennie promised. 

"Yeah and if you don't ask we won't tell. Will we, Lennie?" Anita added. 

"Whatever you say, baby," Lennie answered with a grin. 

"God, is he whipped," Sweeney said softly to his partner Dworkin. 

"I heard that," Lennie announced. 

"All right, you clowns, recess is over, get back to work," Anita said with a chuckle as she opened her office door. 

As it was now public knowledge in the detective squad that Lennie and Anita were an item they felt OK about going to lunch together and leaving together after work. They talked a bit about feeling awkward about their coworkers knowing about them, but admitted that would probable ease with time. They were actually looking forward to having dinner with Bobby Garcia and Nicole Miller so they could discuss the matter with them.

* * *

They arrived at the Garcia-Miller apartment about 7pm with a bouquet of flowers in hand. 

"Hello, please come in," Nicole Miller said with a very big smile on her face. 

Bobby Garcia took their coats and Nickie took the flowers. 

"Oh Lennie, I found out something today that I just have to tell you about, I just can't believe it," Nicole said, almost gushing. 

"Well by all means do," Lennie said, amused by the young woman's obvious enthusiasm. 

"Uncle Johnny stopped by and I realized that we know each other, I just didn't remember, cause I wasn't used to thinking of you as Detective Lennie Briscoe, and I'm sure you weren't use to thinking of me as Sergeant Nicole Miller either," Nickie said animatedly. 

"OK, I give how were we used to thinking of each other?" Lennie said. 

"Well, you probably thought of me as your partner's niece and I thought of you as Uncle Johnny's partner. Sometimes I called you Mr. B but mostly I thought of you as Cathy's Daddy," Nicole said. 

"Jenny?" Lennie asked in shocked disbelief. 

"Yes, " she answered excitedly. "When I was little I was called Jenny. When I got older I decided to go by my middle name," she explained. 

"What's this all about?" Anita asked. 

"Remember I told you that when Cathy was about 4 Gloria and I lost a baby? Well about then we needed help taking care of Cathy because of Gloria's depression. My partner's mom volunteered to take Cathy a couple days a week, my mom and Gloria's mom took the other days. Jenny, my partner's niece was also staying with her grandmother, and the two girls just hit it off. Jenny became like Cathy's big sister. Cathy would beg me to go see Uncle Johnny's Jenny as she called you," Lennie looked at Nicole fondly. 

"When you and Cathy's mom divorced and she took her off to Florida and we lost contact. I haven't seen her in like 25 years. How's she doing?" Nickie asked. 

Lennie got up and hugged his arms to himself. He couldn't bring himself to talk about Cathy, so Anita told Nickie that Cathy had been dead since the spring of '98. 

"Oh Lennie, I'm so sorry," Nickie said. 

"Yeah, well Cathy inherited her old man's addictive behavior and got in trouble with drugs. When she got busted for possession with intent to sell she cut a deal agreeing to testify against her ex-boyfriend dealer, but thanks to an incompetent DA up in Brooklyn they didn't put him away and the scumbag killed her," Lennie explained obviously still in pain. 

"Hey I think dinner is ready," Bobby said to try and change the mood. 

The mood improved during dinner and Lennie began asking Nicole about her family. 

"Nicole, your old man was a cop too, right?" he asked. 

"Yeah, my dad Frankie and my Uncles Johnny and Jimmy too," she answered. 

"Right, the Miller boys," Lennie said nodding his head. "So was your uncle just visiting today or did he want something?" Lennie asked curiously. 

"Oh, he wanted something alright but I didn't get it for him, just on general principles," Nickie answered obviousl peeved at her uncle. 

"What did he want?" Anita asked. 

"Lennie's personnel file," Nickie answered. 

"Well I'll be," Lennie said and sat back in his chair. 

"Look, I didn't give it to him 'cause back when I was a rookie, Dad and Uncle Jimmy told me, that Uncle Johnny had done something no cop ought to do, and as far as they were concerned, he was persona non gratis anywhere, except at home, and then only because blood is blood" Nickie explained. 

"When did you join the force?" Lennie asked, seemingly out of nowhere. 

"In '88, right after I graduated from the academy" Nickie answered. Wondering what difference that made. 

"That's when Johnny beat you up right, Lennie?" Anita asked understanding completely. Lennie nodded. 

"Uncle Johnny beat you up?" Nickie asked, hoping she wasn't hearing what she was hearing. "Why would he do that?" 

"Because of your Aunt Katie," Lennie answered. 

"That's what I was afraid of," Nickie said as though she understood completely and wasn't happy about it. 

"Somebody care to clue me in?" Bobby requested. 

"Just about the same time I got out of the academy my Aunt Katie got dumped by some guy and she was so broke up over him she took an overdose of sleeping pills," Nickie looked daggers at Lennie. 

"Nickie it wasn't that way. Katie and I were both coming out of bad divorces and we started dating. She was getting too serious, too fast. I told her I wasn't ready for another serious relationship so soon and I broke things off. She was upset sure, but she didn't try to commit suicide because of me. It was an accident. She was drinking wine and taking sleeping pills and she lost track of how much she'd taken. Look when I quit drinking and went to AA, I talked this out with your Aunt Katie. She and I are square on this, you can ask her," Lennie suggested to her. 

When Nickie didn't answer right away Lennie added, "Why do you think your Dad and your Uncle Jimmy were mad at Johnny? Frankie and Jimmy both know me and they know even in my drinking days I wasn't that big a jerk," Lennie added. 

"OK, yeah. I guess I know that. I can't figure out why Uncle Johnny doesn't know that too," she added. 

"Ah, Johnny always did have a quick temper and a stubborn streak a mile wide. Thing is, he's mad at me for dating Katie in the first place, but I didn't know she was his baby sister. I mean she didn't take back her maiden name after the divorce and she never said, oh and by the way the Miller boys are my brothers. And you know your Uncle Johnny, once he's done something , well he's never gonna back down and say he made a mistake, you know. So as far as he's concerned I'm always going to be in the wrong." Lennie said trying to explain the situation. 

"Well, that does sound like Uncle Johnny," Nicole admitted with a sigh. 

"What I want to know is why your Uncle wanted Lennie's personnel file," Anita said. 

"Uncle Johnny is a PI now and he said someone wanted him to do a background check on Lennie," Nicole answered. 

"Did he say who?" Anita asked pressing for more information. 

"I asked him, he said he hadn't met with the person, just had a phone conversation with a woman, a Mrs. Mabel Harris," Nicole answered tentatively. 

"Damn it!" Anita swore. 

Bobby and Nicole looked back and forth between Anita and Lennie with questioning glances. 

"Anita's mother," Lennie answered their unspoken question. 

"I can't believe she's doing this!" Anita said obviously very upset. 

"Oh I can. I told you she was going to have quite a list of reasons why she didn't want her daughter with the likes of me. She's just making sure she's got all the ammunition she needs to convince you, that you shouldn't be with me," Lennie told her. 

"This is so wrong, so unfair. She said she was going to reserve judgment and that as long as I was happy that was all that mattered," Anita said heatedly. 

"Yeah, well that's what any parent is going to say when he or she is trying to sound reasonable. But eventually a parent is going to be sure that they know what's best for their child, and that's when they pull out all the stops and do what ever it takes to put a wedge between their precious baby and the mook who thinks he's good enough for her," Lennie said. 

"Nickie, Bobby, I hate to cut the evening short but I need to go home and have a conversation with my mother. Come on Lennie let's go," Anita said as she started towards the door. 

"Sorry, we'll make this up to you some time, OK?" Lennie suggested as he followed in Anita's wake. 

"Yeah, no problem," Bobby said as he and Nickie watched the older couple leave the apartment. 

All the way home Anita smoldered and Lennie tried to calm her down. He was trying to convince her not to contact her mother while she was still so angry. 

* * *

"Baby, please, just sleep on it, OK?" Lennie cajoled. 

"Oh all right," Anita finally relented. 

Lennie sighed feeling like he'd dodged a bullet. Or maybe they had. He knew they were going to have to confront her family's preconceived notions about his relationship with Anita at some point but he thought it would be better later, particularly after her divorce from Don was already filed. 

Anita grumpily packed a small bag for the trip she'd take tomorrow evening to Santa Domingo and then got ready for bed. Lennie settled into bed next to her, holding her close to him. His feelings were jumbled. Ever since he heard that Johnny Miller was sniffing around about him he'd been feeling uneasy, but there was more to it than that. There were emotions he was experiencing that he wasn't sure it would be safe to share with Anita. If he told her he was having second thoughts about their having a baby, he thought he might lose her. The thought of possibly losing her made him desperate to make love to her while he still could. He moved over her and began kissing and caressing her, causing her to moan and writhe beneath him. 

"Please Lennie, please I need you! I need you inside me now!" she begged him. 

"Yes baby, I need you too," he said as he joined their bodies, rocking them quickly to their climaxes. 

Afterwards, as they lay in the afterglow, Lennie fought to keep his emotions in check. He didn't want to bring the subject of the baby up because if she weren't pregnant he'd risk ruining their relationship for nothing. He kept trying to remember what his grandma used to say about not borrowing tomorrow's trouble. 

Anita was aware of almost a desperation in Lennie's lovemaking but she was afraid to ask what was disturbing him. She was frightened that whatever it was might have the power to disrupt their lives. She knew they were temporarily living in a fantasy. They weren't going to be able to keep their relationship a secret forever; especially if she were pregnant, because if she were they were going to have to make some decisions about their child's upbringing and that could greatly impact their careers, but right now she didn't know whether she was or she wasn't so she wouldn't worry about it yet. Anita was becoming a true believer in each day having enough worries of it's own. 

* * *

When the alarm went off Anita found it hard to roust herself from bed for her Thursday morning run, it didn't help that Lennie was all too willing to rollover and go back to sleep too. 

"Come on sleepyhead," she said as she shoved him in the side. "Or are you gonna let me go running by myself this morning?" 

"Oh, No," Lennie replied around a rather large yawn as he sat up in bed and stretched his arms above his head. 

Anita tried to stifle a laugh. 

"What?" Lennie asked rather sharply. 

"Some mornings you've just got the cutest bed head," she told him between giggles. 

Lennie hauled Anita down into bed and began tickling her mercilessly. 

"Uncle! Uncle!" Anita cried. 

Lennie let her up but smacked her on the butt as she walked away. 

"That's for the cute remark," he said as he scanned the bedroom for his sweats and sneakers. 

* * *

Soon they were dressed, stretched, outfitted with bottles of waters, IDs tucked into shoes, keys in hand and headed off to the nearby park. As they headed onto the cinder track for their normal run, the scowling black man who had become a permanent fixture on their morning runs showed up. Lennie decided in the mood he'd been in lately, he wasn't going to put up with this guy any more. 

"Baby, you go on. I'll catch up with you," Lennie told Anita firmly. 

"Lennie," Anita said by way of warning. 

"Go on Anita, we aren't at work here," Lennie said in a tone of voice that said he wasn't going to take orders from her. 

Finally, Anita shrugged her shoulders and took off at a slow jog. 

"Mister, you've made it real clear you don't like my being with my lady. But that's too bad. Because she and me aren't breaking any laws here by being together, of course you're not breaking any by disapproving either. Now if you and I get a little physical in our disagreement that might break the law. And you could call the NYPD and try to get them to throw my sorry ass in jail. There's just one little problem with that. You see I happen to be a member of the NYPD and so is my lady. And New York's finest have a tendency to stick up for their own. So I think they'd tend to let me pound your worthless carcass into the ground and not say a thing. Do we understand each other?" Lennie asked the black man. 

"Yes sir," the other man nervously said as he nodded. 

"Good, now I'm gonna join my lady for a run and if you know what's good for you, you'll be gone when I get back around the track and you won't ever let me see you here again when I'm here with my lady," Lennie said. It might not have been the PC way to handle the guy but it sure felt good to Lennie. 

Lennie looked up the track and then down and then swore. In the time it had taken for him to deal with the man Anita had gotten two thirds of the way around the track. It would take him a couple of laps to catch her and he'd really have to push to do it. As he got almost all the way through the second lap he'd closed the distance and he realized she'd picked up the pace quite a bit in the last bit of the second lap trying to hold him off. He also realized he liked the view from where he was quite a bit. Anita had a fine ass. 

Anita threw a look over her shoulder when she realized Lennie had closed the distance between them but was now just easily jogging behind her at a comfortable pace. 

"Aren't you going to pass me or at least come up her and run next to me?" she asked. 

"No, I like the view from here just fine," Lennie said. 

Anita stopped suddenly and Lennie almost bumped into her. 

"Anita, are you all right? Why'd you stop?" he asked with some concern. 

"You, you're incorrigible," she spluttered. She laughed and he kissed her. 

"But you love me, right?" he asked and she nodded. 

"Come on, let's finish our run and get home," she suggested. 

"OK," he said and smiled one of those big beautiful smiles of his that she so loved. 

* * *

To Anita the day seemed to fly by and before she knew it, it was time for her to catch the limo to JFK so she could make her 5 o'clock flight to Santa Domingo. She asked Lennie to walk her to the limo and then she pulled him into its back seat to talk for a moment and to give him the kind of kiss she wouldn't dare give him in front of the precinct. She promised to call him on his cell phone when she got to the hotel, and then Lennie gave her a few last kisses before getting out of the limo and telling the driver to take his lady safely to JFK. 

Lennie went back up to the squad to finish of his shift and to solve a personal dilemma. He was supposed to pick Ric and Stefan up outside Ric's dorm at Columbia at about 5:30. He realized he'd made a big mistake. He hadn't seen Anita's boys in ten years. And then they'd been two scared out of their wits grade school kids who had just seen their Mom shoot a boy who was about 5 years older than them. Well, maybe they'd recognize him. He hadn't changed that much. He was still a tall white guy in a suit driving a big car. Car - that was it. He'd just call and tell them what sort of car he'd be driving and ask what sort of clothes they'd be wearing and what corner of Amsterdam and 114th they'd be on. Now if he could only remember what he'd done with Stefan's cell phone number. 

"You OK, Lennie?" Ana asked, as she watched him shuffle through some papers. 

"Yeah, just a little nervous," he said, when he saw the puzzled look on Ana's face he added. 

"I'm suppose to take Anita's boys out to dinner tonight to get to know them better," he explained. 

"Oh," she said realizing why Lennie was feeling nervous. "Where are you taking them?" 

"Stefan said he'd like to go to Dave & Busters in the Palisades?" Lennie said not sounding too sure. 

"Oh, that sounds like a great idea. They've got all sorts of stuff to do there and they've got good pool tables," she said trying to make the latter sound enticing. 

"Yeah, well I'll never get there if I can't find what I did with Stefan's cell phone, aha - here it is," Lennie said, snatching up a piece of paper that looked like it had been torn from one of his notepads. 

"Well good luck, oh just be sure to take plenty of money" Ana said, and Lennie nodded and favored her with a grin. 

"Hi Stefan, it's Lennie, look I'm due to knock off here in about ten minutes. I thought I'd pick you guys up near Ric's dorm. Nearest cross is Amsterdam and 114th, is that right?" Lennie asked 

"Yeah, look this is kind of embarrassing, but last time I saw you guys you were like grade schoolers. So you want to clue me in, other than two young black men, what am I looking for?" Lennie asked teasingly. 

"OK, and you're looking for a - let's see how do people usually describe me," as Lenny paused a flurry of adjectives were offered up by the other detectives in the squad - tall, scrawny, lean, lanky, old, mature, middle-aged, sleepy-eyed, bed room eyes, wise ass, "That's enough of that" Lennie said to the detectives. 

"Did you get all that?" Lennie asked with a laugh. 

"Look I'll be driving a dark blue 2002 Crown Victoria, so just keep a look out for the car. It shouldn't take me too long to get up there but sometimes traffic this time of day can be brutal," Lennie said. 

"Yeah right, and get in trouble with the boss lady, I don't think so, see ya in a few," Lennie said and ended the call. 

"You guys are bad," Lennie said as he turned to face his fellow detectives. 

"Hey relax and have a good time with Anita's boys. Don't get to thinking you have to impress them or win their approval or something. You've got the only approval that counts – hers," Sweeney told him. 

"When did you get so damn wise?" Lennie asked. 

"It's been rubbing off over the years," Sweeney replied with a grin. 

Lennie shrugged into his suit coat and left. 

* * *

He took off his badge and holster and stuffed them into his glove compartment. Then checked the map he kept stashed in the car. 

The traffic wasn't too bad and soon he was coming up Amsterdam to 114th when he saw Ric in a Columbia Sweatshirt and Stefan in a Giants Jersey. He stopped and powered down the passenger window and unlocked the doors. 

"You guys need a ride?" Lennie said with a grin. 

"Yeah man," Stefan said, as he slid into the front seat. Ric sullenly slid into the back. 

"Hang on gents, next stop Dave & Busters," Lennie said as he began maneuvering through traffic. 

"So Lennie, how's a cop afford a great ride like this on a cop's salary or should we be worrying about you being on the take?" Stefan asked with a grin. 

"Nah, don't worry. I get a new car about every 10 years and it just so happens this was the year. I got this old army buddy that's a car salesman and he gets me last years demo model or in this case a car that was in the owner's family. This was his boss' wife's car. She gets a new car every year, hardly uses the thing and has it in the service department for every little rattle and knock she hears. The car depreciates a ton when you drive it off the lot and Harry gives me really good money on my trade-in, because he knows I treat my cars pretty good, well other than having a lead foot at times. So all I had to do was finance this car for about 10K at the credit union, and I've got a nice - just about brand new car at a steal," Lennie answered Stefan's grin with one of his own. 

He was relieved that he and Stefan hit it off as well in person as they had the couple of times they had talked on the phone, but it bothered him that Ric was sitting silently in the back of the car. He wondered if he should try to draw Anita's older son out or just let him brood. He sighed inwardly. He knew Sweeney was right, he didn't need the boys' approval but he badly wanted it. He wanted approval from both of them, just as Anita had craved Julia's approval and probably wanted his Mom's and his brother's, not that Lennie gave a rat's ass what Bernie thought of Anita. 

"Earth to Lennie," Lennie heard Stefan say with a laugh. 

"What? Sorry, guess I got lost in thought. What did you ask me?" Lennie said with a laugh. 

"When's Mom's flight get in to Santa Domingo?" Stefan asked. 

"Uh, I think about 9:30 and then of course she's got to go through customs and get to her hotel room, so I bet it will be maybe 10:30 before she can get a call through to us. She said she'd call my cell phone," Lennie answered and Stefan nodded. 

Lennie and Stefan continued to talk and occasionally made attempts to pull Ric into the conversation as they traveled to the entertainment center. By the time they got there, a silent pact had been established between Lennie and Stefan to win Ric over. Lennie bought the three of them Power cards that would allow them to play all the video games and other games in the place that they might care to. As they wandered through the arcade area Ric challenged Lennie to skee ball and shooting hoops. Ric was surprised to find himself outmatched in both instances. 

"How'd you get to be so good at shooting free throws?" Ric asked. 

"What you think they don't ever foul the old white guy?" Lennie answered the question with a question. 

Ric shrugged and then answered. "No, I was thinking that for an old dude you're awfully tall. I figured they probably made you play center back in your day, and centers are notorious for not being able to shoot free throws," Ric answered with disdain. 

"Well, I suppose if I'd been 6'2" in High School you would have been right, but I was only 5'9" when I was a senior, so I played forward and I had a pretty good free throw percentage," Lennie answered. 

"Man, you grew 5 inches after high school?" Stefan asked sounding astounded. 

"Yeah, well I was only 16 when I graduated, well, actually as I always said 16 and a half. I always had a chip on my shoulder in those days about being the youngest in the class," Lennie said with a laugh. 

"Hey, you guys hungry?" Lennie asked and they both nodded. Lennie thought maybe Ric was thawing just a little. 

"Well, as long as your Mom's not here to watch my cholesterol, " Lennie said as he began perusing the menu, then he glanced at Ric and Stefan, "or are you guys gonna tell on me?" he asked. 

"I won't tell," Stefan answered. 

"Me neither, I figure a man ought be able to eat what he wants, " Ric said. 

"Yeah, well your Mom looks at me and says 'but Lennie I want you around for a long time', now how's a man suppose to argue with that?" Lennie asked mimicking the boys' mothers voice almost precisely. 

"She's got you wrapped round her little finger now don't she?" Stefan commented. 

Lennie didn't answer just went back to perusing the menu. After they'd ordered their dinners Ric asked Lennie to explain how he graduated from high school so young. 

"Oh, my Mom started me in school in the fall just before I turned six, and then when I was in third grade my school was being renovated and they taught third and fourth grade together in this great big room. I just did all the work for both classes at the same time, so at the end of the year they let me take the regent's exams for both grades, except I had to take the fourth grade exam on a Saturday. They said it was when they let kids take it who had been sick when the exam was originally given or had some special situation like mine. Well, I passed it and so they skipped me to fifth grade. 

My Dad got really mad at my Mom for having me take both tests because they charged an extra fee, and I wasn't all that keen on skipping ahead because all my friends were back in fourth grade. I guess when I skipped a grade that's when I got to be such a wise ass. I mean, I learned that if you could make people laugh, they usually wouldn't hit you or maybe they wouldn't hit you quite so hard," Lennie said around mouthfuls of his dinner. 

"Why would people hit you?" Stefan asked. 

"You know, just stupid stuff. The kinds of things that kids hit other kids over," Lennie said a bit uncomfortably. 

"Like what?" Stefan pressed. 

"Like I don't know. Lot's of reasons, I was younger, smaller, I got better grades, my Dad was Jewish and my Mom was Polish. You know stupid stuff like that," Lennie said. 

"So what did you do after you got out of high school?" Stefan asked. 

"I worked at my uncle's liquor store as a stock boy until I was old enough to join the army at 17. I did a two year hitch so I could use the GI Bill to go to college, then I came back here and started at John Jay College. I started on a degree in Criminal Justice until I was old enough to get in at the Police Academy, and then as soon as I was old enough that they'd hire me I joined the NYPD. Been there ever since," Lennie answered. 

"You must have been pretty smart to skip a grade and finish high school so young. Did you ever finish that Criminal Justice degree?" Ric asked. 

"Yeah, eventually. It was a little harder after I started working and had to try to get the classes through night school and correspondence," Lennie replied. 

"Look, I'm sure you've noticed I haven't exactly been falling all over myself tonight to welcome you with open arms," Ric said with a sigh. 

"No kidding, hadn't notice that," Lennie said sarcastically. 

"Well, I'm gonna be straight with you because so far it seems like you've been pretty straight with me. Grandma Harris had you checked out," Ric told Lennie. 

"I know, by my old partner Johnny Miller," Lennie said. 

"How'd you find out?" Ric asked, a little surprised. 

"Well for one thing Johnny came snooping around the 2-7, and for another one of the Internal Affairs Officers who did the Officer Involved Shooting Incident report for the undercover operation your mother and I were involved in a couple of weekends ago happens to be Johnny's niece, Nickie Miller. Nickie also happened to be a very dear childhood friend of my daughter Cathy's. Anita and I had dinner with Nickie Miller and her boyfriend the other night and she told us her uncle was doing this background check on me," Lennie explained to Ric. 

"You ought to know that report makes you out to be a drunken womanizer, so I really don't see any reason I should be too thrilled about having you in my mother's life," Ric said flatly. 

Lennie smiled, "Well, there have been times when I've described myself as a skirt chasing drunk," Lennie paused, took a breath and continued. "Look Ric, I've got no illusions here. I'm not a kid like you. I've lived well over half a century and some of that living was pretty hard. I've been married and divorced twice. I've fathered three children that I know of and only one of them is living. One of my children was stillborn for reasons I never knew and one was murdered by a drug dealer for daring to testify against him. I spent over a decade inside a scotch bottle because my Jewess American Princess decided I wasn't the prince Charming she thought I was and she went stepping out on me kissing other frogs. But I've finally got my life back together and I've finally found a woman who loves me for me just the way I am. She's not out to change me, not trying to make me over and you've got absolutely no idea how good that feels," Lennie finished his declaration of love for the boys' mother and suddenly realized what he'd done and ducked his head down a bit and looked to see if anyone was looking at him in the restaurant. 

After they finished their meals the boys drug Lennie out to the video games and were amazed that he was pretty good at some of them, but lousy at the games that featured some sort of gun shooting. Lennie tried to explain that as a cop, pulling one's gun meant you'd messed up big time, so his not being great with the gun games meant diddlysquat as he put it. Finally he steered them towards the pool tables. 

"Come on, time for me to teach my boys a few lessons," Lennie said with a big smile. 

"I know how to play pool," Ric said a bit petulantly. 

"You do, do you? Well, then rack and break, Ric," Lennie suggested. 

Lennie watched Ric. He was athletic but had little technique and even less strategy. 

When he missed, Lennie chalked his cue, walked up to the table and ran it in about 90 seconds. 

"Now, would you like to start those lessons?" Lennie asked. 

The boys nodded like a couple of bobble head dolls and Lennie began teaching them the finer points of pool. Both of hem were quick studies and even though Ric with his rangier build would seemed to have had the natural advantage Stefan was actually the one who grasped the finer points of the strategies Lennie was trying to teach. 

  
Just as they were about to start a real match Lennie's cell phone rang. 

As soon as he heard Anita's voice a sweet smile broke over his face and he said in a soft voice "Hi baby, been waiting for your call." 

"Yeah, the guys been teaching me to play video games and I've been teaching them a few things about pool," he answered. 

"Now would I do that to your boys? Hey you want to talk to them first?" he offered. 

"OK, here's Ric," he offered the phone to Anita's oldest son, "Talk to your Mom," he ordered. 

"Hey Mama," Ric said as he took the phone from Lennie and a very genuine smile broke over his face. 

"Yeah, I guess so," Ric said as he looked at Lennie like he was measuring him. 

"Well, he's pretty cool for an old white cop, and I'm pretty sure he could whip the old man's ass at just about anything," Ric declared, Lennie shook his head in mild disapproval. 

Ric chatted with his Mom about inconsequential things for a minute or so. 

"Here Mama, looks like baby brother wants to talk to you too," Ric said as he passed the phone to his brother. 

"Hey mama, how you doing? Don't worry about Lennie. We've been keeping him busy, so he doesn't miss you too much, and we're keeping the pretty women away from him too. Never had any idea that they'd flock to him like they do," Stefan teased. Lennie shook his head at Stefan. 

"Hey, give me that phone," Lennie commanded. 

"Are these two always such jokers?" Lennie asked when he got back on the line with Anita. 

Lennie started looking for a more private place in the pool hall area as he began talking to 'baby' telling her he missed her and couldn't wait for her to be home. He listened to her recount how her flight went and explain what she'd done since landing and what she planned to do that night and the next day. He explained what he and the boys had been up to and what they would do with the rest of the evening. He told her that Ric seemed to be warming up to him and he thought that he and Stefan were really going to be pretty good friends. 

The boys wanted to give Lennie some privacy, so they racked up a game of eight ball and played each other. They tried very hard to ignore Lennie's conversation with their mother, partly just to avoid the ick factor of 'but she's our Mom!' Of course it was nearly impossible. They could hear this very tough, no nonsense, NYPD detective talking in a very soft, warm voice. Stefan missed a shot when he heard the catch in Lennie's voice as Lennie said he wasn't looking forward to going home tonight because 'I'll be all alone in our bed and it will seem so big and cold and lonely without you'. 

Lennie looked over to the table the boys were playing at, he could see they were looking at him. He turned his back to them for a second and said goodnight to Anita and then walked over to take in the guys' game. 

"So who's up?" he asked 

"Me, I've got stripes." Stefan said. 

"Uh huh," Lennie said, sizing up Stefan's best shot and then waiting to see if the young man would see it too. 

Stefan sank the fourteen with enough draw on the cue ball to bring it back to leave him a good shot on the twelve. Lennie smiled. Stefan then called and easily sank the eight ball in the corner pocket. Lennie walked over to Stefan and slapped him on the back. 

"That's the way to shoot pool," he said. 

Ric was surprised that he felt a bit jealous of his younger brother. He wanted Lennie to be as close to him as he was to Stefan. God, just a few hours ago he was bristling at this man, not wanting him to be with his Mom and now he found he liked and maybe even admired him. 

"So, can we get a few more lessons in or did Mom say we have to get you home before your bedtime?" Ric asked. 

Lennie reversed his cue stick in his hand and with a laugh that belied his words said, "You get your butt over here and I'll teach you another kind of pool hall lesson, kid." 

"You lay a hand on me and I'll tell Mom, and then you won't get yours," Ric teased back. 

"Damn, now there's a threat with teeth in it," Lennie said. 

"Hey, cut it out you two, that's a visual I really don't need," Stefan said as he racked the balls for another game. 

"What?" Lennie asked, not quite realizing what Stefan meant. 

"Look, I realize you're in love with my Mom, and that she's in love with you but, she's my Mom, you know?" Stefan asked in a way that begged Lennie to understand, but for a few moments Lennie stood clueless. 

Ric decided to give it a shot. 

"Lennie are both your parents living?" he asked. 

"No, my Dad died quite a few years ago why?" Lennie asked. 

"How would you feel if some guy wanted to date your mom?" Ric asked. 

Lennie thought about that for a second, then laughed. 

"Ric, my Mom's eighty years old. Who would want to date an eighty year old woman?" Lennie asked. 

"An eighty year old man? Come on how would you feel about it?" Ric pressed Lennie for an answer. 

Lennie crossed his arms in front of his chest and scowled. " I guess I wouldn't like it much," he finally answered. 

"Yeah, well sometimes neither do we," Ric said taking upon himself to speak for himself and Stefan. "I mean, I think we're both getting used to the idea that you're an OK guy, but it's just - weird for any guy to think about some guy wanting to be with his mom. God knows I'm glad Mom's too old for you two to be thinking about having a baby, that would really freak me out," Ric explained. 

"You know what, let's stop talking about mothers and sex and just play some pool," Stefan suggested. 

"Good idea," Lennie said, as he wanted to steer the conversation as far away from the last couple of topics as possible. 

They stayed and played for another couple of hours, Lennie teaching the boys how to do masse shots and combinations and how to use the cushions when they didn't have open shots. Finally, Lennie realized how late it was, when he considered all the driving they still had to do. 

* * *

When they got out to the parking lot he decided to let Ric drive. He felt letting Ric drive his car would be a way to show him that he trusted him. Maybe if it hadn't been so late, he would have realized it was probably not a smart thing to do. Lennie had just stretched out in the back seat and was resting his eyes when trouble found them, in the form of two very conscientious uniformed cops. 

The cops saw a late model American sedan being driven by two African American teenagers make a lane change without signaling first. They followed the vehicle checking the license plate with DMV. It came back registered to a Leonard W. Briscoe. The older of the two cops was sure that Briscoe was a white cop with the detective squad in the 2-7. That made him certain the car had to be stolen by these two "punks". So they hit the lights and sirens and pulled them over. 

"What the hell?" Lennie said as he started to sit up in the back seat. 

"There's a third guy in the back seat!" the younger cop shouted excitedly. 

"Stay in the car! Keep your hands in plain sight!" the older officer said using the PA system of their radio patrol car. 

"Ric, put your hands on the steering wheel. Stefan put your hands on the dash. Be as polite as I'm sure your mother has taught you to be," Lennie ordered the boys as he reached his hands up onto the headrest behind Ric. 

The officer approached the driver's window and asked Ric to lower the window. 

"Ric, make a big show of slowly moving your hand to the control that powers down the window," Lennie instructed Ric. 

"May I see your license and registration?" the officer asked. 

"Officer, this is my car, the registration is in the glove compartment," Lennie said. 

Stefan started to open the glove compartment to get it out. 

"No! Stefan!" Lennie yelled. 

Stefan stopped and looked at Lennie very startled, even a little hurt. 

"I'm sorry Stefan," Lennie said gently. "I didn't mean to startle you, but my service revolver is in there. And I don't think these officers would take it too kindly if a gun were suddenly introduced into this scenario," Lennie explained and Stefan nodded understanding.  
  
"Officer, would you mind if I get out and go around to the passenger side and get out the registration for you," Lennie asked. 

"No, that would be fine sir," the senior of the two officers replied. 

Lennie retrieved his badge and the car's registration and then after making sure the two officers could clearly see what he was doing and that they were ok with his actions he also retrieved his gun and holster. He then asked the two officers to accompany him away from the car. 

"Officer Delgado," Lennie paused, suddenly surprised after reading the officers name badge, then continued "Officer Werner, why did you stop this vehicle? And you had better have a damn good reason," Lennie told the two officers. 

"The young man made a lane change that he didn't signal and we did a DMV check on the car, when it came back to a Leonard Briscoe, I remembered hearing my old man talk about an officer Lennie Briscoe, who among other things was a hell of a pool player before his captain made him stop shooting stick, and well the guy my old man was talking about sure wasn't a young black guy, so I figured the car was stolen," Officer Delgado explained. 

"So this wasn't a DWB stop?" Lennie asked a bit more relaxed. 

"No sir! Being a Mexican American I don't stand for that sort of shit!" Delgado said angrily. 

"Good, because you know who those two young men are?" Lennie asked. 

Delgado and Werner shrugged their shoulders. 

"Those happen to be the sons of the Chief of Detectives of the Homicide Division 27th Precinct," Lennie informed the two uniforms. He could have sworn he could hear the two officers gulp. 

"Oh, and officer Delgado, tell Manny, I mean your Dad, that uh," Lennie paused, trying to recall the least objectionable of the Delgado Sr.'s nickname's for him, "Chico says Hi," he added with the hint of a smile as he walked back towards the car. 

"Yes sir, and Detective Briscoe?" Officer Delgado said. 

"Yes?" Lennie said as he turned back towards the officer. 

"Tell your young friend that in the future he should remember to signal before changing lanes," Delgado said with a smile. 

Lennie gave Delgado an imaginary tip of his hat. 

Lennie continued back to the driver's side of the car. 

"I think I better drive," Lennie said and Ric slid over in the seat. 

"Yeah. Hey, how did you like having black 'sons' for a little while Lennie?" Ric asked hotly. 

"I suppose you think this was a DWB thing don't you?" Lennie asked as he pulled the car back out into traffic and got back up to highway speed. 

"You saying it wasn't?" Ric challenged. 

"Believe me, I thought it was at first too, and I was all ready to tear those guys new ones, until I found out who the officer was that was involved, and what initiated the whole thing. You didn't signal a lane change back there, so they did a simple DMV check. They saw that the car was registered to me. The senior officer happens to be the son of a guy I used to work with back when I was a rookie. Delgado knew the car was supposed to be driven by a white guy his dad's age not a young black man. He figured the car was stolen, that's why he pulled you over, not because you're black," Lennie said and looked over to see if Ric understood or bought what he was saying. 

"You're sure that wasn't about him seeing two black guys in a nice car and figuring there was no way it could be their ride?" Ric said challengingly. 

"I'm pretty sure it wasn't that. Didn't you happen to notice that the lead officer back there was Hispanic?" Lennie asked. 

"Yeah, I guess I did," Ric grudgingly admitted. 

"Hispanic teenagers get just as much grief as black teenagers, so Delgado's not going to pull that sort of crap, he said so himself," Lennie told Ric. 

"Look, one thing you have got to do if you want to live a long and healthy life, is not walk around with a chip on your shoulder. There are enough people who will give you grief for being young and black without you projecting an attitude about it," Lennie counseled Ric. 

"Oh, so now you think 'cause you're banging my Mom you got the right to give me advice," Ric said acting tough. 

"Ric," Stefan started to say something. 

"Shut up, Stefan," Lennie said as he pulled the car over on the shoulder and turned off the engine. 

"Get out of the car, Ric, now!" Lennie ordered as he got out of the car, slammed the car door and walked around to the back of the car. 

Surprisingly Ric did as Lennie said without a word of protest. 

"Now what, old man. You gonna teach me some manners or something?" Ric said. 

"Damn, I really thought we had gotten past all this childish crap. Look Ric, I'm not bucking for the job of your step-dad here. You've got a father and you're about as grown up as you're gonna get. As to your Mom, I don't need your permission to be with her. I love her, she loves me and there's not a damn thing you can do about that. So you may as well shut the fuck up about that. All I was doing back there was trying to give you some good advice because I like you and because, as the son of the woman I love, I'd like to save you some hard knocks in your life, 'cause that will save a lot pain for her," Lennie finally wound down and let out a sigh. 

Ric shuffled his feet a bit and then he sort of coughed. "Look I'm sorry, I don't know why I said that to you. I just do stuff like that sometimes. I mean I know,"- 

"Yeah, you're a lot like Dad in that way, You say hurtful stuff just 'cause you can," Stefan said. Lennie and Ric both whirled around not realizing that Stefan had joined them at the back of the car. All three men were rubbing their arms in the coolness of the late hour. 

"What the hell are you doing out here. I told you to," Lennie began, 

"I know to shut up. Well, you're not my dad either, so I don't have to obey you if I don't want to. Look, I like you and I respect you, maybe my coming out her and sticking my nose in here doesn't seem to say that, but it's getting late and it's cold out and I really just want you two to get back in the car and work this out in there where it's safe and warm, OK?" Stefan said. 

Lennie walked up close to Stefan and curled his right hand around the back of Stefan's neck and leaned his forehead against his and sighed "Yeah". He let go of Stefan and then walked back to the car and got in the driver's side of the car and sat down but he didn't start the car. 

Ric got in the passenger's side and Stefan got in behind Lennie. They sat in silence for a while.  
  
"I'm sorry, Lennie," Ric said softly. 

"Yeah," Lean said clearing his throat, "It's OK, Ric," he started up the car's engine. 

The three men traveled back to the city quietly. Lennie drove up to the front of Ric's dorm. 

"Why don't you come sit up here Stefan and I'll run you out to your house," Lennie said. 

"No, I'm gonna crash on Ric's floor tonight, that way you don't have to do all that extra driving. You've got to take Mom's place at the squad in the morning, don't you? I'll just catch a bus to school in the morning," Stefan said. 

"Are you sure?" Lennie asked concerned. 

"Yeah, I'll be fine and it will give me and Ric some time to talk," Stefan said. 

"All right. But call your Dad, so he doesn't worry, OK?" Lennie reminded him. 

"Yeah, sure thing. Drive safely and call us when you get home," Stefan called out as Lennie was leaving. 

"Drive safely and call us when you get home?" Ric mockingly repeated to his brother after Lennie drove off. 

"Yeah, you know this is the man my mom loves. I'd like to know he made it home safely. Is that ok with you, big brother?" Stefan asked Ric impatiently as the two brothers made their way up to Ric's room. 

"You know I'm beginning to wonder if our mom's the only one who loves Lennie Briscoe. I mean, maybe you're shopping round for a new Daddy, huh little boy? You tired of our Dad?" Ric asked derisively. 

"Well I tell you one thing, if you had been living at home with him this last couple of months like I have, you'd be plenty tired of him and his attitude, especially of late. And maybe you hadn't noticed but this Lennie Briscoe's a pretty nice guy," Stefan added. 

"Yeah, and maybe you hadn't noticed he's also pretty old and pretty white," Ric added in a challenging voice. 

"You got a problem with that?" Stefan asked. 

"You don't? 

"Man, I wish you'd make up your mind. You run hot and cold. One minute you like Lennie, the next you don't, what's the problem? 

* * *

Lennie got back to his apartment and placed two calls one to Stefan to say he'd made it safely and to ask if Stefan had remembered to call his Dad (he hadn't) and one to Anita to say he thought he'd screwed up royally. Lennie told her about the rest of the evening with her sons. She reassured him that to her it didn't sound like it had been a total disaster but he was sure it had been, and then she told him he simply had to get off the phone because they both had things to do bright and early in the morning. And then before he could hang up she told him the one thing he needed to most hear, "Don't you ever forget, I love you, Lennie Briscoe!" 


	11. Ch 11 TGIF? Not Really

When Lennie woke up Friday morning he didn't feel very rested. He'd slept fitfully, having not exactly nightmares, but disturbing dreams, that he now couldn't recall clearly, he just had the vague feeling that Anita was angry at him in the dreams, no not angry, disappointed, but so disappointed that she didn't want to be with him anymore. The simple thought of her not wanting to be with him, made him feel old and sad beyond expression. After a quick shower, Lennie made some coffee and placed a call to Anita. 

"Good morning, baby, I miss you," Lennie said in a voice made sexy by the early morning scratchiness of it. 

"Mmm, I miss you too. I can't wait until I'm home tonight in your arms," Anita said. 

Hearing her voice and the sentiment she voiced seemed to dispel most of what he'd been feeling so he shrugged off the bad mood. "Yeah baby, me too. I just wanted to kick start my day by hearing your voice, " he improvised. 

"I'm glad you did. It makes my day better too," she said. 

Lennie glanced at his watch. "Well baby, I better get going. I got to go pretend that I know how to do your job," he said, and Anita imagined she could she the grin on his face. 

"OK, try to stay out of trouble and really don't do any thing I wouldn't do," she ordered. 

"Yes ma'am. See you tonight baby," Lennie said. 

"Love you," she added. 

"Love you too," he added before hanging up, grabbing his gun and badge as he headed out the door.

* * *

Lennie had barely gotten in the door of the squad and begun reading the situation reports, when a call came in about a double homicide in a hotel in their jurisdiction. Dispatch had already sent a radio car and EMS to the scene although the first responders had suggested the EMS unit be changed to the ME and a CSU team was on its way. Lennie listened to the details he was given over the phone, although he wasn't given the victims names he was told that their Ids were found at the crime scene and indicated that they worked for one of the deputy mayors. 

Lennie frowned as he looked at the notes Anita had left him, and then he swore. With Ed out on medical leave, his covering for her while she was in Santa Domingo, plus two detectives scheduled to testify in court today and several active investigations in crucial stages, he really didn't have much of a squad left to work with. Given that there were bound to be a number of Spanish speakers among the hotel workers he'd really need Ana with him on this one. He quickly gave the uniformed officers on the scene some very specific orders about controlling the scene. He told them he'd try to arrange for some more officers to be sent to the scene, he hoped it wasn't wishful thinking given how thin the NYPD was stretched these days. 

Lennie then quickly opened Anita's laptop, hoping he remembered her password; he attempted to log on to the Internet. Once he got on he called up a page of the New York government information pages and sent a directory page to the printer upstairs. 

Looking around the squad room quickly as he exited Anita's office, Lennie said, "Sweeney, Cordova you're with me," the two detectives scrambled to get their things together and get up from their respective desks. 

"Dworkin cover the squad while we're gone, OK? Patterson, Mendoza you've both got trials today right?" Lennie asked as he began to stride out of the unit, not really giving either man enough time to do more than nod. Lennie grabbed his coat as he passed the coat rack. 

"OK, be sure you're on time for the trials, when you're done there get back here, there may be work from this case to get onto so don't dilly dally over at the court house," Lennie said as he pulled his trench coat on. "Oh, and if any media call here, they meet a stone wall of silence got it?" Everyone left in the squad including Anita's PAA nodded, feeling powerless to do anything else in the face of this version of Lennie Briscoe. 

"Ana, where's your partner?" Lennie asked, finally noticing Mark Johnson's absence. 

"At the dentist, he apparently broke a tooth last night," Ana answered and Lennie scowled. 

"Likely story," Sweeney remarked. 

When the three detectives got out of earshot, Dworkin asked Patterson and Mendoza "Was that Clark Kent or should I ask who was that masked man?" The other two detectives started laughing.

* * *

Lennie stopped at the sergeant's desk to pick up the directory he'd printed out and to "request" more uniforms to meet them at the hotel. Lennie wanted plenty of bodies available to control the crime scene, especially the media. 

When they got to the car, Lennie threw Sweeney the keys and opened the back passenger side door for Ana, explaining that he needed the leg room and hoped she wouldn't mind sitting in back. 

"Mind if I ask why you're even coming along, Lennie? I mean, usually the Lieutenant just sends two detectives and she doesn't come along to hold our hands," Sweeney said. 

"Yeah, well usually two members of a deputy mayor's staff don't get themselves shot," Lennie revealed the tidbit of information he'd been withholding from the other two detectives. 

"Whoa, which deputy mayor?" Ana asked 

"Economic Development and Rebuilding," Lennie answered. 

"Oh boy, do we know any more than that?" Sweeney asked. 

"Not much, the uniforms on the scene say it looks like a couple of staffers from the deputy mayor's office decided to have a little rendezvous and one of their significant others caught them in the act. We'll see if the scene really bears that out," Lennie answered skeptically. 

"You think it might not?" Ana asked. 

"You never know, it could be," Lennie said. 

"But you wouldn't bet on it," Ana deduced. 

"That's right," before Ana could get Lennie to elaborate they arrived at the hotel. 

"Damn," Lennie swore under his breath. 

"What?" Sweeney asked wondering what had Lennie so worked up. 

"The vultures are already here," Lennie said and motioned his head toward a line of cars in the hotel's valet parking area that were marked with TV station call letters and with the names of the major newspapers of the Big Apple. 

Lennie was pleased to see several more police cruisers pull up to the scene as he reached the front doors. He began barking out orders and the sergeant on the scene began to bristle at his authority being usurped. Lennie realized his mistake almost immediately and laid a hand on the other man's shoulder, speaking a soft apology in the man's ear for stepping on his toes, but explaining that this investigation could quickly become a nightmare because of the victims' political connections. The sergeant understood immediately and took Lennie's apology in the spirit it was offered. He then teased Lennie a bit as he reminded him that they'd known each other long enough to trust each other's judgment. The sergeant offered a few good suggestions about controlling the scene and Lennie felt confident about the situation. 

Lennie took a couple of calls on his cell phone, getting more and more exasperated with each one while he watched until he was satisfied that the perimeter was about as secure as it could be made and that the hotel staff, guests and media were about as well insulated from one another as was possible, and then he went to find what if anything Cordova and Sweeney had gotten out of the hotel manager and front desk staff.

* * *

After Briscoe left the area a uniformed officer approached Sergeant Wozniak, "Who the hell does that gold shield think he is, Lt. Columbo or somebody?" 

"You got a problem with him, Duffy?" asked the old sergeant. 

"Well, he acted like it was his business to run everything," Duffy replied. 

"Well, it sort of was, he's stepping in for Lt. Van Buren for the day. So he's acting commander of detectives for the 2-7. I know he came on a bit strong there, but cut the man some slack. He let me know this one may get dicey. The vics are politically connected so we're going to have the mayor's office breathing down our necks pretty soon, and if we screw up and let the press in it'll be bad," he said the last part with a knowing nod of his head. 

"You know Lennie's not some talking hair-do or a Joe College, he walked the beat like the rest of us and he's been solving homicides since before this one was a glint in his father's eye, " he said motioning toward the rookie standing next to him. "Besides once he realized he was being a horse's ass he pulled me aside and apologized. Aren't too many men I know are big enough to do that," Wozniak continued his defense of Lennie Briscoe, simultaneously scanning the perimeter and making eye contact with his men. 

"And on top of that," Wozniak added to the young rookie cop standing next to him, "he's Polish." 

"Briscoe's Polish?" Jablonski, the young rookie cop asked incredulously. 

"Yeah, Polish Catholic on his mom's side of the family," the sergeant answered. 

"How do you know all this stuff about Briscoe?" Duffy asked as he too attended to his duties. 

"One of my cousins grew up in the same working class neighborhood of Jews and Poles. Lennie's half and half that combined with his being such a brain is what lead to his being such a comedian," Wozniak claimed. 

"That guy's a comedian?" Duffy asked in tone that indicated he didn't believe it, especially since he hadn't seen anything comical about his behavior this morning. Jablonski shot Duffy a look, even as a rookie he knew about Briscoe's infamous wit. 

"Yeah, haven't you heard about his wisecracks at the scene of a crime or his classic joke telling?" Jablonski asked the older cop. 

"Hey, give me a break, I just transferred here from the 9-3." Duffy said. "So Sarge, what were you saying about how Briscoe developed his sense of humor?" Duffy asked. 

"According to my cousin, Lennie got skipped ahead in school a couple of times 'cause he's so smart. He was only something like 12 years old when he started high school. Lennie was this skinny little kid who used to get the crap beat out of him on a regular basis, so he learned that if he made folks laugh they tended not to hit him or at least not as hard," Wozniak replied with a laugh. 

"Poor guy, guess that explains the scar over the eyebrow, huh." Duffy speculated. 

"Nah, I think he got that from some jealous husband who was giving Lennie the heave ho out of his wife's bed back in Lennie's drinking days. Oh, as you're new in the precinct, I'll give you a couple of warnings. Don't play poker or pool for money with Lennie and never bet a horse he recommends, you'll save yourself a lot of money that way," Wozniak advised. 

"Thanks for the advice," Duffy said as he headed off answering a radio call from one of the units working inside the hotel. 

As Jablonski wondered if he should tell Wozniak and Duffy what he'd heard from his girlfriend about Briscoe and Lt. Van Buren, the sergeant directed him to check on another new arrival to the ever-growing collection of vehicles from the media outlets.

* * *

The subject of the three uniforms discussion was returning his cell phone to his pocket after what felt to him like the umpteenth request for information from further up the food chain in the NYPD. If the powers that be would just get off his back for a few minutes he'd get enough information together to actually tell them something. 

"Anything?" he barked at Cordova and Sweeney. 

"The manager says the room was rented to a tall, dark haired, white man in his late fifties. There was an attractive, black woman in her early 40s with him," Ana said stopping for a second, nervously grinning at Lennie as she realized she'd just given a description that fit the man she was reporting to and their boss-his girlfriend, she shook her head slightly and he favored her with a small grin in return, partly because he realized he had just taken his frustration out on her. He knew that wasn't a great idea, as Ana didn't do that many field investigations yet. He nodded at her to get her to continue her report. 

"They assumed she was his wife, but they didn't check her ID. His credit card said Michael Benson," Ana finished the information she'd managed to gather from the hotel manager and waited to see if Lennie wanted her to give him what she had from the front desk staff. 

Lennie searched the print out for Benson's name. "Here he is, he's listed as a comptroller on a 9/11 reconstruction task force," Lennie said as he passed the printout to Sweeney. 

"Did the front desk staff see anyone with them or did anyone ask about them?" Lennie asked. 

"Nope, no one recalls there being anyone coming in with them or even just after them they said it was pretty quiet evening last night, and they didn't have any requests for information about them," Sweeney said speaking up before Ana had a chance, to her obvious disappointment. Lennie noticed what Sweeney was doing and knew he should probably stop it before it got out of hand, but wondered if he shouldn't just wait it out and see if Ana wouldn't handle it herself or if Sweeney wouldn't realize what he was doing and cut it out without Lennie needing to step in. 

"Well, let's go up and see what the crime scene looks like and whether we've got any witnesses worth talking to up there. If we're lucky maybe CSU or the ME has something for us." Lennie said as he moved off towards the elevators

* * *

They rode the elevator up to the 7th floor, which was now cordoned off; a young uniformed officer let them into room 718. They could see the medical examiner working over the bodies of a nude white man and a black woman on the bed in the hotel room. It gave Lennie a strange feeling to see the dead couple whose physical descriptions matched his and Anita's. They didn't really look like them, it was just a vague superficial match, but still it disturbed him. 

"Careful detective," Crime Scene Technician Julian Beck warned. 

"What's the problem, Beck?" Lennie asked. 

"Not you sir, the lovely lady detective. She was about to step on the actual scene of the crime," Beck explained as he shyly smiled at Ana. Lennie grinned; he'd have to let Ed know he might have some competition for Ana. 

"We've got some blood splatter and powder residue over here," Beck said indicating an area of the suite far away from the bed. "It looks like the bed linens were placed here on the floor and the victims were shot on top of them and then moved back on to the bed," Beck further explained. 

"OK, that makes more sense," Lennie said nodding. 

"It does?" Ana said a bit bewildered. 

Lennie laughed. "You think this crime scene looks natural?" He decide he'd better use this as a teachable moment for Cordova, especially since he was probably going to have to partner with her for a while until Ed's shoulder got better. 

Sweeney hung back and watched. He knew what was wrong with the scene, but he wanted to watch the old man put the kid through her paces. 

Ana looked around, "Well, now that I stop to think about it, the clothes look wrong," she answered hesitantly. 

"Why?" Lennie asked, not telling her she was on the right track but trying to make her flesh the idea out. 

"Well, if these two people are having an affair and they've taken this hotel room to have a night of passion in, well then what's with the piles of clothes? You'd expect the clothes to be a bit more haphazardly strewn about the room, just taken off as they were in the way. And usually all sort of wadded up," Ana concluded, and everyone laughed in agreement. 

"OK, anything else?" Lennie asked. Ana stared at the bodies on the bed but didn't say anything. 

Finally, Lennie encouraged her, "Go ahead Ana, I can see it in your eyes, you just don't want to believe you're correct, but you are," Lennie told her. 

"The body positions are wrong, aren't they?" Ana asked, seeking confirmation of her theory. 

"Yep, they are," Lennie said. "If he's on top and someone comes in to shoot them, he's going to hear the noise of that person opening the door, and turn to face the person. He's going to end up catching a bullet in the chest or face, not the back, and he ends up off to the side, maybe even on the floor," Lennie said with certainty born of twenty plus years of investigating homicides. 

"And I can add to that," the ME said. "These two were manhandled a bit before they were killed. They've got bruising indicative of being shoved around and bruises on their knees indicating they were forced to kneel down before they were shot," the ME added. 

"You got a time of death for us to work with?" Lennie asked the ME. 

"Yeah, between 9 and 11PM, we'll nail it down better after the autopsy," the ME promised. 

"Oh and since the shots were purposely fired through his body and into hers, the slugs should be recoverable from her body, from the size of the entry hole on his back I'm guessing 9mm bullets, we won't know until we get them out though whether the slugs will be in any sort of shape for ballistics. We're just about ready to roll him and work her," the ME said. 

"Go ahead," Lennie told the ME then he turned to his two detectives. 

"So what do we know so far?" Lennie asked, again playing schoolteacher. 

"Michael Benson and Althea Watson of the Deputy Mayor's Office of Economic Development and Rebuilding were brought here," Sweeney said. 

"Or lured here," Cordova suggested and Sweeney nodded. 

"Or lured here, made to strip and kneel down on the bedclothes, facing each other and then a double tap to his back and into her body, then they were moved to the bed," Sweeney summarized what they had figured out. 

"But why?" Ana asked.  
  
"When we know that, we'll probably know who did it as well," Lennie said. 

"Look, we need to get the staff and the guests from this floor interviewed and somebody's got to notify the next of kin, and then there's got to be some interviews done down at the deputy mayor's offices and I suppose I can't really put off the media much longer," Lennie said sort of thinking out loud. 

Just then a young uniformed officer came to the door and said he had a message for the detectives from the sergeant. 

"What is it, Jablonski?" Lennie said reading the rookie's nametag, once he, Cordova and Sweeney were out in the hallway. 

"Sergeant Wozniak said I was to bring you downstairs ASAP, sir," the young officer said. 

"Did he say why?" Lennie asked not certain whether to be concerned or annoyed. 

"No sir, he just said I should bring you now, sir," the young officer said. 

"OK, lets go see what Wozniak is all hot and bothered about," Lennie said.

* * *

When the three detectives arrived downstairs a couple of uniforms ushered them into a small room near the meeting area where the media was being held. 

"You're gonna have to talk to them reporters soon Briscoe, but I figured maybe you should have something on your stomach first. So we sent over to Brooklyn for these," Wozniak said as he took a cloth napkin off a plate piled high with a Polish pastry called chruscikis or angel wings. 

"Chruscikis!" Lennie exclaimed. "You sent over to Greenpoint for these?" Lennie asked, referring to a largely Polish neighborhood in Brooklyn. 

"Yeah, turns out we got a uniform just transferred in from the 9-3, knew somebody was coming over this way anyhow and was willing to bring some over. And the guys not even a Pole; he's a Mick. I figured it's only a few days until you're Birthday, so what the heck, splurge a little. Besides I thought maybe the sugar would help you out, since you seem determined to work the whole damn case by yourself," he said and then a moment later added, "uh sir." 

Before Lennie could figure out what to say to the outspoken sergeant, Ana Cordova interrupted him, "Uh, what are these?" she asked, picking up one of the pastries. 

"I think a nice Latina like you ought to call them angel wings because I don't think you'll learn to pronounce chruscikis," Lennie said, as he poured cups of coffee for himself and his detectives and then seated himself in front of the plate of pastries and encouraged everyone, including the young uniformed officer Jablonski to have one of the treats. 

"Mmm, almost as good as my Mom's, of course hers would be fresh out of the oven," Lennie said with a grin. 

"Your mom was a good cook?" Sweeney asked. 

"My mom is a good cook. In fact, I suspect that even though she is insisting that my sister-in-law play hostess for my birthday party," Lennie said and rolled his eyes making Sweeney wonder what that was all about, "I'll just bet she does all the cooking, including a bunch of chruscikis," Lennie answered. 

In between bites of pastry and sips of coffee Lennie placed a couple of phone calls, one to the squad, requesting most of the rest of the squad come down and help out on the interviews of the hotel staff and guests. He wanted Sweeney and Cordova to do the next of kin notifications; he'd handle the first press conference. He then placed a call to One Police Plaza informing the Media liaison officer that he'd bring her up to speed on the case and then she could handle the rest of the press briefings unless someone at 1PP had a different idea. Then he reported into the assistant to the Chief of Detectives to set up a time for a meeting with the chief as he'd been ordered to do a little while ago. That was a meeting he wasn't looking forward to, he and chief Dietz had a long and not very savory history. After a while Lennie pushed up from the table and said resolutely, "Well, each of us has duties we can't put off any longer. I'll hopefully see you back at the squad later this afternoon," and with that he straightened his shoulders more than he usually did and headed towards the conference room. 

"Wait, a second," Ana said "the lieutenant will have my hide if I let you go in there looking like that!" Ana looked around. "Take off your tie, Sweeney," she ordered. 

"What?" the other detective said sounding startled. 

"Just do it," she said impatiently. "You too, Lennie, man if the lieutenant had been here today I bet you wouldn't have even gotten out of your apartment in that hideous thing," Ana added. 

She had the two men switch ties, as Lennie protested that his was not that bad. Ana then brushed at Lennie's suit coat rather furiously. She took Lennie's chin firmly in her small left hand and moistened a napkin with her spit, and then scrubbed some powdered sugar from the corners of Lennie's mouth. Lennie was dumb-founded. 

Finally, he burst out laughing, as did the rest of the cops in the room. "I haven't had my face cleaned like that since I was about ten years old. Maybe Anita should have left you in charge of the squad," he added. 

"Sorry, but"- before Ana could get much further Lennie grabbed her face in his big hands and gave her a kiss on her forehead like a grandfather or favorite uncle would. 

"Thanks kiddo, I needed a reminder not to take myself or the situation so seriously. Now you and Sweeney go get your tough jobs done and be sure to take a couple of radio cars with you to keep the press away from the victims' families," Lennie said, and then he headed into the room with the media.

* * *

As soon as he entered the room he was practically assaulted by the reporters. They were bombarding him with questions and several photojournalists were taking pictures. 

"Oh, now I know why they used to use bright lights to get suspects to confess," Lennie said jokingly. 

"Captain!" one of the reporters yelled at Lennie. 

"No, not even close," he retorted as he made his way to the podium. 

"Lieutenant?" another reporter tried. 

"Naw, its just plain old detective," Lennie responded. 

"Detective what, and from which precinct?" another reporter asked for a clarification. 

"Leonard Briscoe from the 2-7," he clarified. 

"Spell that please," another reporter requested. 

"B-R-I-S-C-O-E," Lennie responded, growing irritated with the reporters 

"I thought that Lieutenant Van Buren was the commander of Homicide in the 27th precinct," one of the reporters commented trying to show off. 

"She is, she just happens to be out of town for the day and I'm covering for her. Now do you guys want to continue this little impromptu Q & A or should we get on with things," Lennie said by way of putting the press corps back in their places. 

"All right, I appreciate your patience in this investigation, I'm hoping that you will understand that by not rushing to release information to the public we can both protect the integrity of the investigation itself and respect the privacy of the families of the victims.   
At approximately 8:15 this morning, the housekeeping staff here found two apparent gunshot victims in a room on the seventh floor during their routine cleaning. They contacted 911. Police dispatch sent a radio patrol car to the scene and the responding officers immediately requested a Crime Scene Unit and Medical Examiner. The victims have been identified as a 58-year-old white male and a 43-year-old black female, their names are being withheld until the notification of their next of kin. Preliminary investigation place the time of death between 9 and 11 pm," Briscoe delivered the facts of the case very succinctly, and then pointed at the raised hand of a reporter in the front row. 

"Was there evidence the victims were having an affair?" the reporter asked. 

Lennie stopped for a moment to ponder how or whether to answer that question and finally decided it would be better not to say anything, "No comment" 

"Do you have any suspects in the case or any known motive?" the reporter asked. 

"Until we investigate the background of the victims, and determine why they were here last night, it's going to be very difficult to determine who might have wanted them dead or why, in fact at this point, we don't know whether both victims were targets or whether just one of the victims was a target and the other was simply there to throw us off track," Lennie reluctantly admitted the latter bit of information. 

"Then why all the secrecy, why are you keeping the lid on so tight on this one?" one of the reporters asked. 

"When we release the identity of the victims later on today I think you'll understand," Lennie said. 

"Are they famous?" one of the reporters asked. 

"No comment," Lennie answered. 

"Now if you'll excuse me I have work to do to move the investigation forward and I'm sure you have reports to file," Lennie said as he strode out of the room.

* * *

Three very disgruntled reporters sat around a table at McGinty's. While the bar was mostly a cop hang out reporters who covered the crime beat also hung out there as well. There was Marty Daniels who wrote for a local newspaper, Stacy Graves the TV reporter who kept hoping the next big story would get her a chance at weekend anchor and Stewart Witte who reported for a radio station. Two of them were friends from high school; the other two had met while doing an internship at the newspaper during college. 

"Well that old detective sure hamstrung us didn't he?" Marty said as he sipped his beer. 

"Yeah, and my producer was plenty steamed about that," Stacy agreed. 

"You know I was thinking, if this old cop Briscoe won't let us have a story, how about we make him the story?" Stewart proposed. 

"What do you mean, Stew?" Marty asked his old buddy. 

"Well, when I saw that old detective up there on the podium, I thought he looked familiar, but I didn't place him until Perez asked about whether the victims were lovers. He's the guy that crooked cop Flynn was trying to frame during the Hellman commission investigation back in '96," Witte said and waited to see if his friends remembered. 

"Oh yeah, I remember," Daniels said with a bit of a laugh. "Flynn accused Briscoe of stealing drugs from the property room in the 1-16 to help get that drug dealer off, but Briscoe claimed he'd signed in on the duty roster then gone home to sleep because he was hung over from drinking the night before. He said no one could alibi him because he was home alone, but then this pretty blonde lady cop shows up the next day to testify that she'd been with him from the middle of the afternoon on through to the next morning," Daniels shook his head a bit. 

"I remember thinking a guy would have to have some pair to put in for pay for an eight hour shift that he spent sleeping off a hangover and banging his married partner," Witte observed then added, "Sorry Stacy, I put that a bit crudely." 

"No that's OK, I was just thinking that for an older guy he's got a certain something. I don't know what it is, but I can see the ladies succumbing to his charms," Stacy said. The guys each gave her a strange look wondering what exactly they were hearing from her. 

"So what do you think? Can we make a story out of this guy?" Stew asked. 

"That depends if there's anything more than just the Hellman story," Marty replied. 

"Well I know a way we can find out," Stacy said as she pulled her laptop and cell phone out of the oversized bag she carried everywhere with her. She got connected to the Internet and started searching for articles on Lennie Briscoe, suddenly she sat back as though she was surprised. 

"What'd you find?" Stew asked. 

"Remember about two weeks ago that story about the NYPD pulling a sting on a pool playing hit man from Europe that the Russian mob had hired?" she asked. 

"Yeah it was a weird story kind of a 'man with the golden gun' kind of thing where this hit man wanted to play against a pool hustler with a black girlfriend as an upfront bonus to his contract, and the NYPD supplied him with what he wanted, and then busted him before the hit went down. I guess they made him sing about the job he was going to do for the Russians here and then sent him off to Europe to settle up on a lot of crimes he committed over there, " Stew summarized what he knew of the case. 

"Well guess who the NYPD's pool shark is, gang?" Stacy asked. 

"Briscoe?" Marty asked as though not able to believe it. 

"Yep, the story never got much ink or airtime since he gave no direct comment, the NYPD PR office didn't give much more than a perfunctory statement, and Schmidt, the hit man in the cases was extradited to Europe," Stacy said. 

"Hem, there are a couple more things here. In 1996, he and his partner Rey Curtis caught Mickey Scott who was the first person executed by lethal injection after the death penalty was reinstated. Barely 24 hours after witnessing the execution, Detective Briscoe survived a car accident in which ADA Claire Kincaid received injuries that proved fatal when the car she was driving was slammed into by a drunk driver," Stacy read from an article she found. She then skipped over to another article. 

"Mar 4, 1998 Brooklyn nurse Cathy Briscoe, daughter of Detective Leonard W. Briscoe, was found murdered, the apparent motive for her murder was her having given testimony against alleged drug dealer Danny Jones. Jones was free on bail at the time of her death after a mistrial was declared when a jury could not reach a verdict on charges against him for his drug dealing, before Jones could be brought to trial for murdering Cathy Briscoe he was found dead of a drug overdose," Stacy read. 

"Wow, I guess there's enough there to write a story about," Marty said. 

"Yeah, but should we?" Stew wondered aloud. 

"Lets, do a little more digging and let our editors and producers decide," Marty said. 

Stacy and Stew nodded. Their editors and producers ate up the ideas and soon they and several assistants were working on stories that would run in the papers or on broadcasts as companion pieces to the murder story.

* * *

Lennie heaved a deep sigh and then went ahead and opened the door to the Chief of Detectives' office. 

"Hello Briscoe, come on in," the chief called. 

"Chief," Lennie said and sat down in the chair the chief motioned him to sit in. 

"Well, you caught a big one this morning and you've handled it well so far," Chief Dietz said. 

"You don't need to sound so surprised, Dietz" Lennie said. 

"God Lennie, can we just let bygone be bygones?" Dietz asked. 

"You really want to?" Lennie asked surprised. 

"Look Lennie, I'll admit it, when we were both green rookies and you kept getting all the commendations and press it burned me up. It seemed like you were so humble that it came off as arrogant. When you were scooped up from walking a beat to a radio car before any of the rest of us, it really made me mad. Then your cousin Gus greased the way for you to get your gold shield quicker than any of the rest of us did by attaching you to the SIU, and I really thought that stunk. So yeah, when they took it all away from you and booted you out, I was leading the cheers. I was amongst the ones that didn't think they should have let you back in, but over the years I've watched you work your way back up. I've watched you slip and fall and pick yourself up, and keep coming no matter what. I've watched lots of other cops stumble from grace, but not Lennie Briscoe. And eventually I sort of forgot what the hell I was so worked up about in the first place. So if you don't mind, I'd like to try to forget what an envious son of a bitch I was, when I was that young man that I haven't been in so many years. So what do you say, Lennie? Can we let the past go?" Chief Dietz asked. 

Lennie quirked a strange grin, and shook his head, "What the hell, I haven't been a young guy in a long time either, " he said and slid forward in the chair he was sitting in and offered the other man his hand. The two grizzled old cops shook hands and grinned, and then the chief laughed. 

"OK, what have you got?" he asked. 

"Well, you knew it wasn't gonna be what it looked like right?" Lennie asked rhetorically. 

"Yeah of course, that would be too easy, so what are you thinking?" the other man asked. 

"Well, something the mayor's office is gonna hate, but I suspect Benson found something somebody didn't want him to find. When a comptroller our age buys it, he's found something in the books that's not right. Add in to the picture that the woman killed was a bookkeeper who worked for him and it makes it sound like together they'd found some abnormality in the 9/11 projects they were overseeing, and someone didn't want them reporting what they'd found. So they killed them and tried to make it look like they'd been fooling around and got caught by a jealous spouse," Lennie explained. 

"Well, you know what they say, most people who have affairs do have them with their coworkers," the chief said with a wink at Lennie. 

Lennie wasn't sure if the chief was teasing him about his past indiscretions or his current one. 

"Lennie?" Dietz asked when he noticed Lennie's distraction 

"Uh, what?" Lennie asked a bit incoherently. 

"You want to tell me why you're so distracted all of a sudden?" the chief asked looking amused and perplexed all at once 

"Uh, was that question meant to say I have the option of not telling you?" Lennie asked. 

"Well that's an interesting answer and you know what the Chinese say," the chief said. 

"Don't they have a curse that's something about living in interesting times?" Lennie asked. 

"Exactly, well if you don't want to answer the question," he paused to see if Lennie would, but Lennie gave no sign of volunteering "then go see the media officer, and then get back to work and see if you're right about that bookkeeping angle," the chief said. 

The chief got up and walked Lennie out, being sure to shake hands with him and let him know once again that he meant what he said about bygones being bygones.

* * *

Lennie briefed the media officer, had a quick bite to eat for lunch and then spent the afternoon back at the 2-7 working with the detectives on the information they'd gleaned from the interviews at the mayor's office and with the guest and staff of the hotel. They still didn't have a suspect but they felt they were getting closer on a motive. Lennie felt pretty sure that a look at the accounts the two victims were working on and the phone records would probably turn up something. He requested some help from a forensic accountant. Finally, about 7pm Lennie decided to call it a day. Anita had called before boarding her plane to say she'd be at the airport about 10:30, so he decided he'd head to a little diner near the apartment and get some supper, and then he'd go relax for a while before he headed out to pick her up at the airport.

* * *

The waitress was just leaving two young ladies in a booth, having taken their orders, when Lennie walked in, so she seated him behind them, and said she'd get his diet coke and come back with a menu unless he knew what he wanted already. Lennie said he'd just take the special and then slid wearily into the booth behind the two young women. He thought he recognized one of them as the young woman who had moved in downstairs from him about two months ago, just before Labor Day if he remembered correctly. Lennie had brought a newspaper to keep him busy but he couldn't help but over hear the conversation of the two young ladies sitting in the next booth. 

"So how's your research going, Sarah?" 

"Oh Judy, I don't know if I'm every going to get anything done, what with Lennie and Baby reenacting the best soap opera I've ever heard every night right above my head," Lennie worked hard on not whipping his head around when he heard the young woman use his name and his favorite nickname for Anita. 

"What do you mean, Sarah?" Judy asked not noticing Lennie's reaction. 

"Well, when I moved into my apartment the landlord told me not to worry about noise, that my upstairs neighbor was this older cop, and that although the guy did OK with the ladies, he was a gentleman. He didn't too often bring his lady friends home and he was right about that until 2 weeks ago. Now every night this guy and Baby go at it like teenagers," Sarah replied sounding put out about it. 

"Baby?" Judy asked with a hint of humor in her voice. 

"Her name's Anita, but he hardly ever calls her that, except, well you know," Sarah trailed off. 

"Oh yeah, it's good form for a guy to use your name then," Judy said with a laugh. 

Lennie was caught between feeling incredibly embarrassed and angry, yet he wasn't sure he had a right to be angry. He had to think this through before he confronted his nosy neighbor. 

"The worse part is this middle aged couple have a better sex life than I do!" Sarah said with a self-deprecating laugh. 

"So you're turning into a voyeur, are you?" Judy asked. Sarah shook her head, rolling her eyes at her friend and huffing at her. 

"You know the thing is, after listening to them talk to each other, I'm really starting to care about these two, especially Lennie. I mean this guy's had the hell kicked out of him throughout his life, and now he's got a chance with a really special lady. I'm kind of rooting for them," Sarah told her friend. 

"Ah, you, you've always been a sucker for a sob story and of course since he's a cop, you're even more partial to him, right?" Judy suggested. 

"I guess, yeah maybe. I wish that, if I knew something about my Dad that he'd be like Lennie," Sarah shrugged. 

Lennie finally decided to introduce himself to his neighbor. He stood up and walked to the young ladies' table and cleared his throat. 

"Hi, I'm Lennie Briscoe, you're upstairs neighbor," he said. 

"Oh God," Sarah said blushing crimson and wishing the floor would open up and swallow her. Judy was made of sterner stuff and besides she'd only heard things second hand. She blushed a bit but managed to keep her wits about her enough to ask Lennie to sit with them. 

Having Lennie seated helped some, as he wasn't looming over them. Just then the waitress came out with the girl's salads and asked if Lennie would be joining them. The three of them were a bit uncertain but agreed yes and so the waitress put Lennie's drink in front of him and moved his place setting. She said she'd get his salad ASAP and bring his entrée out with theirs. The girls managed to introduce themselves as Sarah Wilkerson and Judy Myers. 

"Look, I know this is uncomfortable for both of us, but when I overheard you talking to your friend here, I felt I had to come talk to you. At first I went back and forth between being embarrassed and being angry. But as I thought about it, I realized you had a perfect right to be in your apartment whenever you wanted to be, and a right to tell your friend about your annoying neighbors; though I wish you hadn't chosen to do it in such a public place," Lennie said, and then took a sip of his diet coke. 

"I'm sorry Mr. Briscoe," Sarah began. 

"Please, call me Lennie, after all anyone who knows as much about my personal life shouldn't have to stand on formalities," Lennie said with a wry smile. 

"Please, don't make me feel worse about this than I already do," Sarah pleaded. 

"Sorry, not everyone appreciates my sense of humor," he said. 

"You know I have a suggestion that might make life more livable for you two, well I guess actually you three, counting your girlfriend," Judy said. 

"What?" Lennie asked anxiously. 

"Why don't you just put on some headphones when you hear them starting to get frisky?" Judy asked Sarah. 

"Headphones, what a great idea!" Sarah exclaimed. 

Lennie shook his head and then started to laugh. 

"What's so funny?" Sarah asked. 

"I don't know, it just struck me as funny. I mean it seems like your generation always has headphones on. You're either listening to CDs or your cell phone or whatever, but you couldn't have had headphones on any of the times me and Anita were together?" Lennie asked with a laugh. 

"Just your luck I guess," Sarah said with a smile. 

Yeah, I guess," Lennie answered. 

The two young women and Lennie relaxed into a conversation over their dinner, talking about Sarah and Judy's graduate work, which was a relief for Lennie as he could stop worrying about the myriad of other stresses that had been pressing on him of late and just listen to the two young women prattle on about their lives. Sarah it turned out was a psychology student working towards a PhD with a doctoral thesis about psychological stresses on those working in the criminal justice system and Judy was a graduate student in bioinformatics. When Lennie started to ask what Judy's research was about Sarah laughed. 

"Don't get her started. Next thing you know she'll be explaining about how computers can make three-dimensional models of biomolecules, and she'll start throwing around words you and I have never heard of," she said with an affection grin towards her friend. 

"OK, so I'll ask you questions. Why are you focusing on cops? Haven't there been enough studies done on what a messed up species we are?" Lennie asked. 

"Well, you would think there had been, but actually there've been a number of limited studies that have happened primarily after critical incidents. I want to try and look at all of those studies, pull them together, see what common threads there are," Sarah said in a very serious almost academic manner. 

"You didn't really answer my question," Lennie observed. 

"My father was a police officer and my mom was a social worker, so I guess I saw a lot of the Criminal Justice system and a lot of how the workers in it get stressed out," she finally answered. 

"You said your dad was a cop, did he retire?" Lennie asked. 

"I don't know. I lost contact with my Dad when I was about twelve. My parents divorced when I was 7 and my mom moved to Chicago where all of her family lived. That made it a lot easier on her as a single mother. At first, I kept in touch with my Dad through phone calls and letters, and occasionally I'd get to fly out here or he'd come to Chicago, but eventually he remarried, and then my mom remarried too, and well he just stopped calling and writing. I never knew exactly what happened. I asked my Mom, but she was kind of vague. I wasn't sure if she was trying to protect me from something or trying to get me to except my step-dad or what, but I sort of let it drop. Now I really wish I hadn't," Sarah said sadly. 

"What do you mean?" Lennie asked. 

"My Mom and step-dad were killed in a car accident when I was in college and so now I'll never know what my Mom knew about my Dad," Sarah said forlornly. 

Lennie wondered if he should offer to help, considering all he had on his plate right now and the fact that the news about her father might not be good news. He knew that whether he should or not, he would, because he was such a sucker for young women, and it didn't help matters that Sarah looked a bit like his Cathy. 

"Sarah, did your dad work for the NYPD?" Lennie asked. 

"Yeah I think so, somewhere in Brooklyn I think," Sarah answered. 

"Look, give me as much information as you can about your dad and I'll have a friend in the PBA see if he can't figure out where your dad is now a days," Lennie promised as he handed her his pen and pulled out his notebook and slid it across to Sarah with a blank page flipped open. 

"Oh Mr. Briscoe," at the sight of Lennie's uplifted eyebrow she remembered, "I mean Lennie, Thank You!" 

"Well, I'm a real believer that fathers and their daughters shouldn't be kept apart," he replied. Lennie then added, "Look, I need to be honest with you. I may find out your Dad is somewhere here in the city and anxious to see you or I may find out something bad. You've got to be OK with that or I can't start this process," he told her firmly. 

"I understand what your saying. It doesn't matter what you find out, if he's dead or is in jail or if he just doesn't want anything to do with me, fine, at least I'll know," Sarah replied resolutely, and then added. "I certainly won't hold the results against you. I'll simply be grateful that you were willing to help me." 

Deciding to switch topics, Sarah suddenly asked, "Lennie can I ask you something?" 

"Sure, what?" Lennie answered. 

"Why do you so often call Anita baby?" Sarah asked. 

"Well, partly because she lets me and mostly because its such a contrary name for her," he answered simply but Sarah could sense there was a lot more to his answer. 

"What do you mean?" Sarah asked hoping to get Lennie to expand on his answer. 

"Well a baby is helpless and needs others to take care of it. Anita is anything but helpless; she takes care of everyone else. Anita is one of the most intelligent and competent women I've ever known. I've watched her deal compassionately with the family of homicide victims, then calm a nervous witness so we could get useful information about a crime, and then trick a suspect into confessing to a crime. I've watched her handle hostage situations and I've worked a stakeout with her where she took down a drug dealer with her bear hands. She deals with the obnoxious administrative details and keeps the upper administration off our necks so we can solve cases. She's been successful in what used to be considered a man's world only. Yes, the bastards at One Police Plaza have thrown a glass ceiling up above her and I wish I could punch through it for her, but she doesn't let that keep her from doing the best job she can. 

"With all that said, even before we were together, she wasn't one of those women who minded if I held open a door for her or helped her into her coat. She didn't lecture me about being a male chauvinist pig because I offered to carry something for her or because I occasionally picked up the tab for her lunch. I was a bit worried the first time I called her baby, thought maybe she wouldn't like it, but she didn't mind, and after a while it just got to be what my heart wanted to call her, because for all that she can take care of herself, I like it that she's willing to sometimes let me take care of her instead," Lennie finally finished his tribute to his lady love, and then almost shyly looked down at his hands as if he suddenly realized how much he'd revealed about his feelings for Anita to this two young women who were virtually strangers to him. 

Both Sarah and Judy had heard the adoration in Lennie's voice. It was obvious how much he loved Anita and how proud he was of her. 

"Lennie, I'm confused. It sounds like the way you're talking about her that Anita is your boss," Judy said. 

"Yeah, she is," Lennie confirmed. 

"Well, aren't there rules against the two of you being together?" Judy asked. 

"Yeah," Lennie reluctantly admitted. "but"- 

"Judy," Sarah interrupted, "weren't you listening? Lennie and Anita are like, I don't know, like Tony and Maria in West Side Story. They are too much in love to be kept part by some stupid rules," Sarah gushed. 

Lennie shook his head. He liked that Sarah had chosen West Side Story to compare his and Anita's love story to. even if they were way too old to be compared to the two youngsters, at least they were New Yorkers, heck if he recalled correctly Tony was even suppose to have been Polish. Then he remembered West Side story didn't end so well. 

"Uh, well let's hope we're luckier than Tony and Maria. There are regulations against us being together, but we've talked to some Internal Affairs officers who happen to be violating those same regulations themselves, and they say as long as no one files a complaint against us we're OK," he explained. 

"So you're just going to try to keep your relationship a secret?" Judy asked. 

"Well, not completely, as it stands now all the detectives in the squad know about us and my former partners and of course our immediate families know about us too," Lennie explained. 

Just then the waitress brought by their checks and Lennie grabbed boyh checks. 

"Here let me get these. I know college students are always scrambling for money," he said. 

"And cops aren't?" Judy said. 

"Well actually, since one of my ex-wives remarried, and I don't have to pay her alimony anymore, it seems like I always have extra money every month," Lennie said with a laugh. 

"Just wait, if Anita is pregnant you'll need that extra money for diapers and baby formula," Sarah teased. 

"What?" Judy exclaimed. 

"Sarah, do you have to broadcast all of my secrets?" Lennie said with a smile. 

"Are you going to be a father, at your age?" Judy asked incredulous. 

"Good God, I'm not that old and Anita is much younger than me. Besides we don't know for sure yet. Though to be honest I'm hoping she is. I know it's foolish at our age, but in my heart of hearts its what I want," Lennie sighed then looked at his watch. "Ladies, it's been nice chatting with you, but I need to get home and get ready to go pick my lady up out at the airport, so if you will excuse me," Lennie said and got up and went off to pay their bill. 

"Good night Lennie, say hi to Anita for us," Sarah said. 

"And thank her for letting us borrow you for a dinner companion," Judy added. 

Lennie waved at the two young women as he headed out of the diner.

* * *

Lennie headed back to his apartment where he showered, shaved and redressed in his white silk shirt and black dress pants. He put on aftershave and threaded the alligator leather belt through the loops of his pants, and then put on his black slip on shoes and the leather jacket, he didn't bother with his holster. He took a look in the mirror. Not bad for an old guy, but where was his comb? And should he where a tie? No. The open necked shirt was sexier. 

Lennie drove towards the airport singing songs from the Broadway musical West Side Story. He remembered seeing the musical with his Mom at the Alvin Theatre when he was fourteen. His Mom still loves musicals but his Dad loathed them, so either he or Bernie would go with their Mom about once a year, maybe for her birthday or just before Christmas. That year it had been the closing week for the musical. Over the years Lennie found that like his mother he enjoyed the musicals and so he looked forward to their annual sojourn to Broadway, he hoped perhaps Anita would enjoy going to musicals too. Lennie was so preoccupied with his memories and his thoughts about Anita that he didn't notice the car tailing him. 

Lennie found a parking space in the short-term parking and then headed into the terminal, double-checking on the monitors to see where her plane would be landing and whether it was on time. He found the gate and shortly after he did he saw her emerge, as the first class passengers were the first off the plane. He immediately engulfed her in a bear hug, picking her up off the ground and turning around with her in his arms. 

"Lennie, put me down you'll make me dizzy!" Anita said and pushed at his arms as he held her firmly to his chest. He let her slide down him enough to catch her full lips in a kiss. 

"Mmm, you taste good to me," he said. 

"All those tropical fruits they've been serving in first class. Come on make yourself useful and carry my bag," She said as she slung her carry-on over his shoulder. 

"Yes ma'am, right this way. Your carriage awaits," Lennie said as he bowed and motioned the way for her. 

Unnoticed by the lovebirds the photojournalist for The Post had a roll of pictures of them, but by the time he could get them back to the office and developed it would be very late and the editor would decide not to run them in the morning edition. 

Lennie and Anita talked as he drove her home. He told her about the double homicide and his theories of the crime. She was almost in tears laughing about Ana Cordova's spit polishing Lennie's face before letting him go before the cameras. He asked her to remind him to return Sweeney's tie on Monday. Then he told her about his dinner with the downstairs neighbor. 

"Oh no, you mean this young woman has been listening to us make love?" Anita asked sounding mortified. 

"Among other things," Lennie answered. 

"Oh God," Anita said burying her face in her hands. 

"It's OK baby. I had a long conversation with her and her friend and she's got a plan now. Earphones," Lennie said. 

Anita peaked out from behind her fingers and then said, "huh?" 

"Look Baby, she's no more thrilled about listening to us than we are being eavesdropped on. The idea that we've got a much better love life than she does upsets her," Lennie added with a laugh. 

"Lennie, this isn't funny!" Anita complained to him, just as they got to the apartment building. 

"Oh Baby, come on don't take things so seriously, Sarah and her friend Judy are nice young ladies and they don't mean us any harm. Really they were very sweet. Sarah compared us to Tony and Maria in West Side Story," Lennie told her. 

"Really?" Anita asked. 

"Really," Lennie answered as he maneuvered Anita into the elevator of the building. Usually they took the stairs but it was late and he was tired. He wanted to work on improving her mood on the way up to the apartment. He punched the button for their floor and leaned her into the wall of the elevator and began singing to her in a surprisingly beautiful baritone. 

_There's a place for us,   
A time and place for us.   
Hold my hand and we're halfway there_. 

Then Anita surprised him by taking over and singing the next part of the lyrics.  
  
_Hold my hand and I'll take you there   
Somehow,   
Some day, _

As the elevator opened he joined his voice with hers and they finished the lyric. 

_Somewhere!_

* * *

Lennie fumbled with his keys to get into the apartment quickly before the old biddy that lived next door came out to find out who was singing at the top of their lungs in the hallway. When they finally got in Anita started laughing and Lennie couldn't help but join her. 

"That's what's always so stupid about musicals. I mean, who suddenly breaks out in song in the middle of, of whatever," Lennie said as he hauled Anita down onto his lap on the couch and sighed. 

Lennie kissed Anita gently and then he deepened the kiss, running his hands down her back, suddenly he realized how much he wanted her, needed her. She was really all he needed. Why was it he ever loss track of that? He began undressing her and she stopped him. 

"What's wrong?" he asked. 

"Let's move to the bedroom?" she suggested. 

He smiled and nodded, letting her tug at his hand, hauling him up off the couch and into their bedroom.

* * *

The phone rang, rousing Lennie from sleep. He reached out his left hand for the phone, trying not to dislodge Anita from her favorite pillow, his right shoulder. 

"Briscoe," Lennie said in a groggy-sounding voice. "Rey?" 

Lenny tipped his hand to check his watch; it was only 6:30. Considering that he and Anita hadn't gotten home from the airport until about midnight, and then they'd made love until the wee hours, he was working on maybe four or five hours sleep at the most. 

"What's up?" Lennie asked. As he tried to concentrate on what Rey was saying, Anita began to stir and as she did she made it very difficult for him to track what Rey was trying to tell him. First she put tiny kisses on his chest, licking his nipple, and then she let her right hand slide under the covers heading purposely for what she referred to as "her toys". 

"Just a second, Rey," Lennie said in a slightly strained voice. He placed the receiver against the left side of his chest and used his right hand to stop the journey of Anita's hand. 

"Baby, you got to stop that, I'm trying to listen to what Rey is saying and you're being a little distracting," Lennie told her. 

"Just a little distracting?" Anita asked with the sound of a pout in her voice. 

"Oh God woman, you're being evil," Lennie said with a laugh. He sat up on the edge of the bed so he could try to ignore her seductive ministrations. 

"OK, Rey what were you saying?" Lennie said after he removed the receiver from his chest. He then tried to listen for a while but Anita began licking up his spine. He squirmed and reached behind him grabbing her by her wrists and pulling her to sit next to him. 

"No, Anita's flight got in late, so we hadn't gotten up yet," he replied in a strained voice. 

"Thanks for the heads up Rey, I'll check on the article in the paper we get delivered and then go get the others at the news stand. I suspect I'll be getting a call from Dietz pretty soon," Lennie said. 

Anita was finally awake enough to realize that something serious was going on and she needed to put aside her erotic playfulness and be her lover's helpmate. 

"Lennie what's wrong?" she asked with concern, rearranging herself on the bed now that Lennie had let go of her wrists. 

Lennie turned and saw that in the chill of the early fall morning and with her nudity, she was cold, so he wrapped his arms around her, not in passion but just to warm her and to gather her close to him. 

"Well, it looks like I may have screwed up in handling that case yesterday after all," he said sounding dejected. 

"How so?" Anita asked, as he pulled the blanket around her to try to warm her up some more. 

"Well, I was so concerned about not letting the story leak out to the press too soon, that I kept the lid on too tightly, so the press decided to make me the story. Now next to this skimpy little story about the double homicide of Michael Benson and Althea Watson from the deputy mayor's office, is an in-depth story about Detective Lennie Briscoe of the NYPD," he explained sounding annoyed. 

"How in-depth?" Anita asked sounding worried. 

"Guess we won't know that until we go read the morning paper, " Lennie said as he stood up and started towards the bathroom. 

"I'm gonna take a shower first though, as I seem to be a sweaty sticky mess," Lennie said as he looked back at Anita with a wolfish smile. 

She grinned and then promised, "I'll make you some breakfast."

* * *

Anita rummaged through the dresser drawers trying to find something warm to wear; she ended up wearing some of Lennie's tube socks, his sweatpants and sweatshirt. She then went out to the kitchen and started some coffee for Lennie. She put some water in a cup into the microwave to make some tea for herself. Anita started some toast in Lennie's very cantankerous toaster and then started frying some bacon, which started making her stomach feel queasy, when she started with his eggs she had a real problem. She started looking for where Lennie kept his crackers and when the microwave dinged, she realized the sugar bowl was empty too, so she also started looking for his sugar. Just then Lennie came into the kitchen, wearing his boxers and a t-shirt. 

"Where the hell do you keep your crackers and your sugar?" Anita said in a strained voice. 

"Up here," Lennie said, leaning past her to open a small cabinet in the upper most corner of the kitchen. 

"Who the hell puts a cabinet up so high, let alone stores anything in it?" Anita said grumpily. 

"Well, just let me get what you need. God, you're suddenly so cranky, what's wrong with you?" Lennie asked. 

"Nothing. Just get out of the way before your eggs burn," she said, just as she got to the stove, she felt her stomach rebel again. She covered her mouth and started to run for the bathroom but Lennie was in her way and she had to push past him. 

"Baby, Anita"- Lennie said a bit confused. He turned to the stove flipped his eggs over, turned the heat off, and then went to check on her. 

He found the bathroom door locked which shocked him a bit. 

"Anita, are you OK?" Lennie asked as he stood at the door very concerned. 

"Yeah, I'm fine just give me a minute," she answered weakly. 

She came out looking a bit wobbly. Lennie immediately wrapped his arms around her and walked her to the bed. 

"So, does this bout with morning sickness mean my baby is having my baby?" Lennie asked. 

"Who said anything about morning sickness? I ate a bunch of rich food in Santa Domingo and my gall bladder is rebelling," Anita told Lennie. 

"Uh huh, and if I buy that are you gonna sell me the Brooklyn Bridge too?" Lennie asked with a grin. 

"Don't you own that already?" she asked, before he could think of a good come back the phone rang again. 

"Hope this isn't Dietz," he said. 

"Briscoe," Lennie said almost defensively. Anita saw a smile cover his face as he identified the voice on the other end of the telephone line as someone he trusted, she relaxed against him and listened to his side of the conversation. 

"Yeah, I haven't seen the articles yet, but Rey called to give me a heads up about it. Hey Mike, you want to do your old partner a favor?" Lennie asked then paused to give Mike a chance to answer. 

"Well, I'm thinking the reporters might have my apartment staked out. I was thinking maybe you could stop by a newsstand and pick up the morning papers, and then swing by my place. I'll even make you breakfast," Lennie promised. 

"Uh, well she's not feeling so hot this morning. She says she thinks the food in Santa Domingo was too rich for her," Lennie said but without much conviction. 

"Yeah, that's what I think too," Lennie said with a big grin. 

"Yeah, there is that," Lennie agreed with something Mike was saying. 

"OK, see ya in about twenty then," Lennie said as he hung up the phone. 

"Is Mike going to be here in twenty minutes? Anita asked sounding a bit panicked. 

"Yeah, why?" Lennie asked. 

"Good grief, I've got to get cleaned up and dressed!" she exclaimed, and then began quickly moving around the bedroom picking out clothes to wear and then headed off to the bathroom to shower. 

Lennie stared at the bathroom door for a few moments and then shook his head and laughed. If this morning was any indication, Anita's pregnancy was going to be a roller coaster ride of emotions. She'd been through about a half dozen moods in the last hour and it was still very early in the pregnancy. Well, he'd just hold on to the fact that he loved her very much, and hopefully that would get him through it all. 

He took the time she was showering to go out to the kitchen and eat his breakfast. It was a bit cold, but he wasn't going to complain, he wanted it gone before Anita came out and the sight of it made her sick all over again. He made sure her tea was brewed and kept hot and that she had her choice of crackers or dry toast. He'd have to figure something to offer Mike that wouldn't make Anita sick. 

Just as Anita emerged from the bedroom looking lovely in a casual jogging suit like one might expect to see on Oprah Winfrey, Mike Logan knocked on the apartment door. 

"Hey, there's a photojournalist got the front of your place staked out, but I checked and the back's clear," Mike reported as Lennie let him in and helped relieve him of some of his armful of newspapers. 

"Hey Lieu wow, you know what?" Mike asked casually. 

"What," Anita responded to his question. 

"Being knocked up looks pretty good on you," Logan said earnestly and smiled that big handsome smile of his. 

"Mike, for Pete's sakes is that a thing to say?" Lennie scolded his ex-partner. 

Anita shook her head. "I think maybe I better put something in that big mouth of his, besides it was just a little gall bladder attack" she said and started puttering around the kitchen getting ready to make Mike some breakfast. 

"Uh, wait should you be doing that?" Mike asked sounding concerned. 

"Oh I'm fine now. How do you like your eggs?" she asked and Mike shot Lennie a worried look. And Lennie just shrugged. 

"Uh, scrambled is fine," Mike said handing Lennie one of the morning papers. 

"Baby, I can do that," Lennie offered. 

"No, I'm fine now, just get Mike some coffee or juice and make that stupid toaster work right, and then read the newspaper articles," Anita ordered. 

"You heard the lieutenant," Mike said enjoying teasing Lennie. 

"So, are you buying this gall bladder attack explanation of the morning sickness?" Mike asked softly. 

"Sure and I've just bought some ocean front property in Arizona for us to retire to," Lennie said. 

"That's what I thought," Mike said. 

As Anita put down a plate of scrambled eggs for herself and Mike, Lennie put a glass of orange juice down for Mike and a glass of milk down for Anita. 

"I don't like milk, Lennie. You know that," she said testily. 

"Yes, but you need to drink three glasses a day now," he said and very meaningfully let his eyes drift down toward her belly. She rolled her eyes at him. 

Lennie groaned, got up, taking the glass of milk with him and went to the small very high cabinet in the corner of the kitchen. He opened it and took out a container of Ovaltine, added several spoonfuls of it to the milk and stirred it. He started to put the jar of Ovaltine back in the cabinet but he heard Anita's intake of breath signifying an imminent protest, so he left it out on the counter top. He brought the now chocolate milk back to Anita with a multivitamin. 

"Better?" he asked. 

She smiled. "Much!" she said. She took the multivitamin with a big gulp of the chocolate milk. 

"So does he hover over you like this all the time?" Mike asked, remembering Lennie's stories about his over-protectiveness when it came to his daughters. 

"Unfortunately yes, at least since we realized I might be pregnant," she said. 

"Alright that's it, focus, read the damn papers," Anita ordered and each of them bent their heads to read an article. She and Mike each alternated between reading and shoveling eggs into their mouths or drinking their beverages. At one point Lennie couldn't resist kissing Anita and licking away her chocolate milk mustache. 

"Ooh stop, it's like watching your parents make out." Mike said. 

"Hey, my apartment, my girlfriend. I'll do what I want," Lennie said. 

"Excuse me," Anita said. 

Mike laughed so hard at Lennie that he nearly fell over backwards because he was leaning back in the kitchen chair he was sitting in. 

"As I said before, read!" Anita grumbled as she stabilized Mike's chair. 

"Yes ma'am," Mike said, Lennie just buried his head in the papers. 

After a while Lennie passed his paper to Anita and she traded with Mike. Mike then traded with Lennie. Lennie noticed that Anita seemed disturbed by something she'd read or maybe it was just Mike's presence. Anita and Mike hadn't always gotten along all that well. 

"Well what do you think?" Mike asked. 

"Well they're all accurate enough so I can't sue them for libel," Lennie said trying to be light hearted about things. 

"Only the Post seems to have anything about your seeing someone in the department," Anita noted. 

"Yeah, but you can bet the others will pick up on it right away," Mike added. 

Just then the phone rang. 

"Bet that's finally Dietz," Lennie said. 

"Briscoe," Lennie answered his phone. 

_"Have you seen the morning papers, Lennie?"_ Dietz asked him in a sharp voice. 

"Yeah, guess I really screwed up by keeping the lid on so tight on that double homicide," Lennie admitted, deciding that if he just accepted responsibility upfront that might make things easier. 

_"Well media relations didn't help anything either by dragging their feet,"_ Dietz added. 

"Well, maybe they'll decide I'm not that exciting a story and let it drop," Lennie suggested. 

_"Are you kidding? My girlfriend's teenage daughter thinks your cute, and she and her mom both want to know who it is your breaking department regulations over. As a matter of fact, I want know which of my officers you're screwing._

"Are you giving me a direct order to tell you who I'm involved with, sir?" Lennie asked coldly. 

_"If you're going to make me go that route. Yes I am, detective,"_ Dietz replied equally as frostily. 

"I respectfully decline to answer sir, and you may initiate whatever disciplinary action you see fit," Lennie responded hotly. Mike and Anita both sat up listening to Lennie's side of the conversation very concerned. 

_"You're trying to protect her aren't you?"_ Dietz asked. 

"Of course I am, I love her!" Lennie yelled. 

_"Look I'm not trying to punish you two. I'm not going to turn you over to IAB. I'd like to help,"_ Dietz said. 

"Sure you would," Lennie said clearly not believing the Chief. 

_"Damn it, you're not the only cop to ever fall for someone he worked with, you know. And I really did mean it when I said I wanted to let bygones be bygones. So tell me who I'm trying to protect here and I will try to help!"_ Dietz said. 

Lennie paused and looked at Anita. "Just a second," Lennie said then he cradled the receiver against his chest. 

_"He says he wants to help us, not punish us, but he wants to know who he's dealing with,"_ Lennie explained. 

"Here give me that phone," Anita said, Lennie's eyes grew large but he handed over the phone. 

"Chief Dietz, this is Anita Van Buren," she said. 

_"Lieutenant, uh,"_ Dietz gave a nervous little chuckle. _" I don't know quite what I was expecting, but I'm pretty sure hearing your voice wasn't it,"_ he finally managed. 

"Well, how do you think you can help us?" she asked. 

_"I'll see what I can do with the newspapers, see if I can get them to layoff with the stories. In the mean time the two of you try not to be too blatant about your relationship. Last thing we need is photos of the lovebird cops getting splashed across the front page. How many people know about the two of you any way?"_ Dietz asked. 

"The detectives in the squad plus my PAA know, a couple of Lennie's ex-partners, the IAB officers who interviewed him after the Schmidt case and Phil Cerreta who was there as Lennie's PBA rep and of course our children and my ex-husband, " Anita answered succinctly. Then with Lennie's gesturing at the floor she thought to add, "oh yeah, and the downstairs neighbor and a friend of hers, Lennie knows their names," the last tidbit of information made Mike's eyebrows climb his forehead. 

_"Let me talk to him again for a minute,"_ Dietz requested. 

Lennie got back on the phone and gave Dietz more information while Mike tried to get more information out of Anita about the downstairs neighbor but she wasn't in a mood to tell him about it. Mike wasn't sure if it was him, the articles in the paper, dealing with Dietz or maybe just hormones but Anita seemed out of sorts. He thought it would be a good idea for him to clear out as soon as Lennie got off the phone. 

When Lennie hung up Mike stood and came over to him, "Hey Lennie, I better get out of here, let you and Anita have some time alone," he said and Lennie nodded. 

"Yeah, thanks Mike, you been a real pal coming over like you did," Lennie said. 

"Hey, no problem. See you, LT," Mike added. 

"See you Mike," Anita said with a weak smile. 

Once Mike was gone Lennie turned to Anita and began scrutinizing her. 

"Baby, what's wrong?" he asked. 

"What's wrong? What isn't wrong? The newspapers are running stories about you. At least one of those papers knows your having a relationship with someone in the department. The Chief of Detectives knows about us. Your downstairs neighbor knows about us. We've got to go face my mother this evening and then we've got to move to my house tomorrow, so pretty soon my neighbors will know about us too," Anita made a list of her worries and somehow Lennie sensed that something else was bothering her. 

"Come on, come with me," he said and took her hands leading her towards the bedroom. 

"Where are we going?" 

"Back to bed," he answered simply. 

"What?" she asked sounding a bit confused. 

"I think you just need to lie down and let me hold you for a little while. For just a few minutes we can pretend the world outside our bedroom doesn't exist. OK?" he asked as he kicked off his shoes and pulled her down on the bed with him. 

"OK," she replied, as she cuddled into his arms. 

He pushed a few strands of her hair away from her forehead and traced his fingertips across her eyebrows and down her cheeks. He placed small kisses on her face. He wasn't making love to her, he was just loving her. Trying to show her how much she meant to him, how much he wanted her to feel safe and loved. 

Suddenly Anita turned away from him and began crying. She said something but Lennie couldn't understand her words through her tears. He gently turned her to face him again. 

"What did you say, baby?" 

"I stole you from her," she answered a bit more clearly. 

"Stole me from who?" Lennie said totally confused. 

"From Betty," she clarified. 

"Betty Abrams?" he asked looking for further clarification and Anita nodded her head. 

"How could you steal me from Betty Abrams?" Lennie asked even more confused than ever. 

Anita finally calmed down enough to explain, "Betty and I went to the academy together. We became close friends. When she started working with you at the 1-16 she called and talked to me about this detective she was working with. It was obvious from the first day that she was attracted to you. She couldn't stop talking about you. After a while I realized what she wanted was for me to tell her it was OK for her to become involved with you, only I wouldn't do that. I also wouldn't tell her not to get involved with you, I told her it was her life; she should make her own decision. After a while she started talking about problems, your gambling but mostly your drinking. I told her she should stop seeing you and try to save her marriage, that she should think about her her boys. At first she was really angry with me for telling her that, I thought I was going to lose one of my best friends, but after a while she said I was right and she did break it off with you. She came over after she did and stayed with me that evening, all she did was cry," Anita finished softly. 

Lennie had always wondered if Betty had been as affected by their break-up as he had been, and now he knew. 

"When I came to work at the 2-7 and finally met the man my good friend had been so in love with, I had to admit to myself how hard it had to have been for her to give you up. This morning as I read those articles and remembered how brave Betty had been to come forward at the Hellman Commission, I felt so guilty," she added. 

"Don't, don't feel guilty, baby," Lennie pleaded with her. "Look, Betty was very important to me, but I don't know that I can say I was in love with her. I was drinking so heavily back then, I'm not sure I was capable of love in those days. I do know that losing her was one of the last little pushes I needed to hit bottom, and that's what a drunk has to do if he's ever going to recover. If I hadn't hit bottom then I'd never have gone to AA, and at the rate I was going I'd have been dead in a couple of years. So really your telling Betty to dump me saved my life and eventually let us be together. So don't feel guilty about it, OK?" Lennie asked 

"But what about Betty? She really loved you, Lennie. And," she couldn't finsihe her thought 

"And what?" he prompted. 

"And I haven't even told her about us," Anita admitted. 

"You two are really that close?" Lennie asked almost afraid to hear the answer. 

"Yes, we've stayed close all these years, our boys are the same ages and we talk to each other about everything. She's one of the few people who knew the true state of my marriage to Don. The only thing she doesn't know about is you and me. I just couldn't imagine how I was going to call her up and say, 'Oh Betty, I know I told you Lennie was no good for you, but I'm living with him and I just might be pregnant with his baby,' just don't think that would go over too well," Anita said sarcastically. Lennie didn't say anything for a while. 

"Well, would you rather I do it?" Lennie finally offered, secretly hoping she'd say no. 

Anita looked up at Lennie and shook her head. 

"No, I'll do it, but not just now. For right now, I'd like to do exactly what you suggested. I'd like to lie down in your arms and pretend the rest of the world doesn't exist." 


	12. Ch 12 Guy Things

**Ch 12 Guy Things**  
Lennie held Anita, caressing her and placing small kisses on her face, hoping to ease her into a restful sleep, but he did his best not to join her in sleep and to keep her from trapping his right shoulder under her head as she so often did. He hoped she'd soon be asleep so he could then slip off to deal with the reporters. 

Lennie decided that, even though Dietz had promised to try to handle the newspapers, he probably better do something himself. As soon as he felt sure that Anita was asleep, he got up and turned the ringers off on the phones and started making phone calls. He called several people, who he had thought might call them, like Stefan and Ed and his Mom. Stefan, the typical teenager was oblivious to the newspaper articles, but once Lennie made him aware of them he was upset. Lennie promised him he'd take care of the situation. Ed had been just about to call and offered to try and talk to his newspaper contact but Lennie assured him he had a plan to take care of things on his own. Next Lennie called his mother to assure her that everything was fine; he knew she'd call everyone else in the family, so he needn't bother with the rest of them. 

Lennie sighed; he decided he'd better leave a note for Anita telling her what he was up to, in case she woke up before he got back. He wondered if he was just procrastinating. He knew he sure wasn't looking forward to talking to the reporters, but then again it couldn't be worse than visiting Anita's family tonight. At least the reporters just wanted a story from him; they didn't have a vested interest in making him look like he wasn't good enough to be involved with Anita. For the umpteenth time in the last couple of weeks Lennie wondered why his loving Anita couldn't simply be their business and no one else's. 

Lennie figured that unless the reporters got something spectacular on him today that there wouldn't be anything in the Sunday papers, as so many of the papers already had their Sunday editions out. So he hoped he could convince them to sit down and do an interview with him and Anita tomorrow, and then publish it without giving away who she was. That should satisfy the reporters desire for a story and yet still allow them to keep their relationship semi-secret, at least for a while. He made his way down to the lobby of his building and looked out at the group of reporters waiting outside.

* * *

"You'd best go out the back Mr. Briscoe," the building's security guard advised him. 

"Thanks for the advice Pat, but I've got to face the vultures sometime," Lennie said with a trace of his normal gallows humor. 

Lennie walked out of the building and the reporters descended on him like a wolf pack on a wounded animal. The photographers snapped so many pictures of him that he could barely see. 

"Unless you stop using those flashes, and stop asking questions all at the same time, I'm just going to turn around and go back upstairs," he threatened. 

The photographers stopped taking shots and the reporters all looked at each other trying to decide who should go first. Finally they all seemed to decide that one fellow toward the center of the group should act as spokesperson. 

"Detective Briscoe, Marty Corcoran of the Post, what about the lady police officer you're involved with?" the reporter asked. 

Several of the other reporters looked surprised and when Lennie didn't respond immediately Corcoran added, "We've got pictures of you picking her up last night at the airport." 

As a look of shock registered on Lennie's face the photographers resumed taking pictures. Lennie realized Dietz wasn't exactly going to be thrilled with his lack of attention that allowed a photographer to follow him to the airport last night, not to mention the photographer being able to get pictures of him and Anita. Pictures Lennie imagined could only be termed compromising. 

"Man, now I know why celebrities hate journalists so much. Everybody's just a story to you. You don't give a damn what you do to people's lives as long as you get your precious little byline," Lennie said with derision. 

"Hey, you're the one who's breaking the rules aren't you?" asked one of the reporters in a judgmental tone. 

Lennie's face darkened and he took on a defiant stance. 

"You work side by side with the woman you love for ten years, doing nothing about your feelings, and then have your superiors say you have to go into a dangerous situation and convince everyone that the two of you are lovers, and if you aren't successful in convincing people of that, one or both of you could end up dead. See if you can go on as if there's nothing between the two of you. Then, you come back here and past judgment on me," Lennie said in a challenging tone. 

The reporters grew quiet and the fellow who asked the question looked properly chastised. Finally one of the female reporters timidly asked, "You loved her for ten years and never did anything about it?" 

"Well, for most of that time I mistakenly thought she was happily married. Hey, I never intended to hold a mini-press conference when I came out here," Lennie said in an irritated tone. 

"What did you intend to do?" the Post reporter asked. 

"I was hoping I could strike a deal with you guys," Lennie offered. 

"What sort of deal?" Corcoran asked. 

"Well, my lady and I would sit down with all of you tomorrow and do an interview. You could ask whatever you want of us. What I'm hoping is that we can convince you to leave her name, picture and any reference that might give her identity away, out of the article," Lennie proposed. 

"I don't know about that," Corcoran protested and the other reporters chimed in as well. 

"Look I've been with the NYPD for over 35 years and she's been with the force for over 20. We've got a lot of stories between us, and a lot of insights into what it's like to work for the department nowadays. If nothing else you can get a great story about anti-fraternization," Lennie suggested. 

"What have we got to lose? We go interview them and if they can't convince us, we run the story with her name and picture," one of the reporters said. 

"You OK with that, Lennie?" Corcoran asked. 

"I guess I have to be. Of course if you guys all promise not to publish her name and picture and then someone does, that person will be persona non-gratis at every station house in the NYPD and I have some friends on the force in Jersey too," Lennie added with a smile. 

"OK, so when and where for this interview?" Corcoran asked. 

"You give me a call tomorrow about 8, and if I've survived the trip to the lion's den tonight, I'll let you know," Lennie answered as he handed Corcoran his business card and scrawled his cell phone number on the back. 

"Lion's den?" several of the reporters asked at the same time. 

"I'm meeting her mother and some other members of her immediate family tonight for the first time," Lennie reported nervously. 

The reporters laughingly wished Lennie good luck.

* * *

Lennie went back upstairs feeling that he'd accomplished his mission, that is until he opened the front door of his apartment and found Anita holding his note in her hand. The look on her face told him he was in trouble. 

"Let me guess, you're not happy with me," he said with a bit of wince. 

"Good guess, now let's see if you can figure out why," she said her temper still evident, but beginning to cool a bit. 

"Uh, I did a typical guy thing," Lennie said stalling a bit. 

"A typical stupid guy thing," Anita corrected. 

"But you still haven't explained what it was you did, and if you can't, how can I be sure you won't keep doing this sort of thing over and over?" she asked, still a bit upset with him. 

Lennie flopped down in his recliner, with one leg slung over the arm of the chair. 

"I saw a problem and I tried to fix it, but I didn't stop to consider that it wasn't just my problem to fix," Lennie said a bit dejectedly. 

Anita slowly smiled at him. 

"Did I get it right?" he asked almost eagerly when he saw her smile. 

"Close enough. So, how did your conversation with the reporters go?" she asked. 

"Pretty good I think. I got them to agree to call tomorrow morning to set up an interview with the two of us and then,"- 

"Wait a minute, an interview with the two of us, you made an agreement with these reporters that involves me and you didn't even consult me?" Anita voice got louder with each word and Lennie realized Anita's temper was probably back close to full boil. 

"OK, guess this stupid guy thing I did was worse than I realized. Look baby, I'm sorry," Lennie said as he stood up and tried to take her into his arms. 

"Don't you baby me," she said as she pushed away from him. 

"Anita, please don't be so mad at me. I was just trying to make things better for us, just trying to take care of you," he tried to explain. 

She sighed and then gave him a small smile and shook her head. 

"You suppose you'll ever out grow this tendency to think you have to fix everything for me, instead of letting me take care of things myself, or at least letting me be a part of working out the solution?" she asked. 

"I don't know, I think it came with my y-chromosome," he said with what he hoped was a winning smile. 

"Whatever, "she said rolling her eyes at him. "Let's get the chores done and you can tell me about this interview," as she pushed him toward the bedroom to start sorting laundry. Lennie explained about the interview. Anita was somewhat pessimistic, but he thought that was just leftover from her being upset with him. 

They cleaned the apartment, did the laundry and packed things to take to Anita's house. Late in the afternoon Lennie started casting glances at Anita and she wondered what was wrong. 

"Lennie is something bothering you?" she asked. 

"Uhm, well I was thinking. I really ought to go to a meeting," he answered, and then he added quickly, "I'll be home in plenty of time to go to your Mom's, I promise." 

"That's fine Lennie, you don't have to explain or anything. I know how important it is for you to go to your AA meetings." she said very supportively. 

"Thanks baby, the meeting's just down at St Bart's. I'll be back in about an hour and a half," he said as he reached for a jacket and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

* * *

Anita was actually sort of glad for a little time alone. She needed some time to calm herself and think how she would handle things tonight at her Mom's. She felt sure that her Mom was probably going to attack Lennie. She wasn't sure where her sister would stand on things. She hoped Arlene would be on her side or at least neutral. Arlene's husband Jonesy would probably be on Lennie's side, purely because he knew what it felt like to be in Mabel Harris' sights. One thing for sure, Anita wasn't going to let her mother come between her and the man she loved; if she had to, she'd make it very clear that as far as she was concerned, from now on Lennie came first in her life, even if that meant that her family was going to cut her off.

* * *

As he sat in the back of the meeting room on the ubiquitous folding chair, Lennie felt an odd sense of familiarity and strangeness at the same time. He'd been coming to this meeting for nearly a decade. He knew the regulars in the way you knew an AA buddy. You knew the person's first name, their occupation and their 'story' and you felt a sense of kinship or community. Lennie's great memory and his decades of experience at reading people meant that he had rather fuller character histories of the regulars at the meeting than most people had. He realized the front-page stories on him in the local papers meant people probably knew a bit more about 'Lennie the cop' than they had before, but he found that didn't bother him that much. 

What felt weird to him was that, in many ways, he felt he was a different guy than the one who had last sat in the meeting a few weeks back. Maybe that's why he was sitting in the back row rather than near the front. Some people in the meeting would wonder if he'd fallen off the wagon. Only his sponsor knew what was going on. As the meeting progressed Lennie went from thinking he'd just sit in the back and say nothing to suddenly finding himself on his feet saying the familiar words. 

"Hi, my name's Lennie, and I'm an alcoholic," once he started with the old familiar words it got easier to talk. 

He found himself expressing what he hadn't realized was at the heart of his problem. He was happier than he thought he'd ever been in his life, but he was also anxious, afraid he'd wake up and find out it was all a dream, or barring that that he'd say or do something to drive her away from him. Somehow he just couldn't bring himself to believe he deserved to be this happy and he wondered if maybe he wasn't about to sabotage the relationship in some way. 

Lennie ended up staying longer than he intended to because several of his AA buddies were giving him advice and offering support. Most simply told him to tell his lady friend how he was feeling, the age old 'honesty is the best policy'. When Lennie realized it was later than he'd promised to be, he begged out of the conversation he was in and practically ran back to the apartment.

* * *

"Baby, I'm sorry I'm late. I got to talking after the meeting and I didn't realize the time," Lennie started breathlessly apologizing the moment he got in the door. 

"Lennie, calm down it's OK, we've still got time. Just go jump in the shower," she told him. 

"Oh OK. What should I wear?" he asked as he was stripping off his clothes and heading for the shower. 

"I've laid your clothes out on the bed for you," she answered. 

"Kind of fancy for a family dinner isn't it?" Lennie asked seeing his dress black pants and white silk shirt laid out. 

Anita came into the bathroom so she could talk to Lennie as he took his shower. 

"My mom likes to see a man look well dressed, but believe me no matter how you dress, it will somehow be wrong," she added. 

"Yeah, I figured that. Too relaxed or too fancy or too flashy or something," Lennie said. 

He stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. Then on an impulse he wrapped his arms around Anita's waist from behind and hugged her to him. 

"Ack, Lennie you're getting me all wet!" she shrieked as he lifted her off her feet and carried her toward the bed all the while nuzzling her neck. 

"Lennie, we don't have time for this, not now!" she laughed as he unceremoniously dumped her on the bed. 

He put his hands on his hips, "OK, but somebody definitely thinks he's owed a rain check," he said looking down to where his erection was very obviously tenting the front of the towel around his waist. 

"Perfectly willing to give you a rain check, now get dressed would you. If we show up late my mother will definitely give us what for," she guaranteed as she finished dressing.

* * *

Lennie stood behind Anita in front of the apartment door waiting for it to open. He grew more nervous with each passing second. Finally a woman who resembled Anita, but a few years younger answered the door. 

"Hi Anita, you must be Lennie," Anita's sister said noncommittally. 

"Hi, Arlene, isn't it?" Lennie asked as they came in and Arlene nodded as she took their jackets. 

"Come on in, Mom and Jonesy are in the living room." 

Jonesy stood up and gave his sister-in-law a hug and offered his hand to Lennie. The two men introduced themselves to each other offering each other their nicknames. Lennie noticed Anita's mother look at Jonesy like she wasn't pleased with the man's friendliness. 

"Well, sit down before I get a crick in my neck," Anita's mother ordered frostily. 

"Yes ma'am," Lennie said and began to sit in the nearest chair until Jonesy pulled him towards a chair better suited to a man with such long legs. 

"Don't ma'am me. I'm not all that much older than you," she admonished him. 

"Sorry, I didn't mean any offense. What should I call you?" Lennie asked. 

"I suppose Mrs. Harris will do," she answered. 

"Mom!" Anita protested. 

"What? I suppose because you're foolish enough to be living with him you think I should let him call me Mom," Mrs. Harris verbally slapped her daughter down and then turned to Lennie. 

She picked up a copy of today's Post and a file folder that said Miller Investigations. 

"Where do you want to start explaining," she asked as she threw them down on the coffee table between them. 

"I'm not sure it matters. I'm sure Johnny's report details what a skirt-chasing drunk I used to be and what a terrible father I was to my daughters. And I don't see any way I'm going to be able to change your mind about me if you've got it made up," Lennie said a bit sharply, then he got up and came over to Anita, looking down at her a bit lost. 

"Baby, I don't know what to do. I can' t come between you and your family," he started very softly. 

She stood and took his hand. 

"You are my family. Come on let's go. I won't stay anywhere you're not welcome!" she said, looking daggers at her mother as she turned to leave. 

"Wait! Wait Anita, Lennie! Please stay. I didn't mean any of it. I was just testing you, Anita!" Anita's mother said. 

"What?" Anita said angrily. 

"Oh child, when you first started telling me about you and Lennie, everything sounded so wrong. You're still married to Don, even if you haven't been living like husband and wife for years; and you're Lennie's boss, then you tell me he's quite a bit older than you, and he's been married a couple of times before, and has had trouble with drinking. You didn't exactly make him sound like the catch of the decade, girl," with her last comment Anita's mom laughed and so did Lennie. 

"When you put it that way, I do sound like a parent's worst nightmare," he admitted. 

"Anita, I just wanted to see if you were willing to stand up for your man," her mother told her. 

"And boy was she," Jonesy commented. 

"I've never seen Anita stand up to Mama like that before," Arlene added. 

Lennie could see Anita was still upset at her Mom, and he wanted to find some way to smooth things over between the two women. 

"Come on baby, please don't be mad at your Mama anymore. If you stay mad I'll never get to taste that wonderful smelling dinner," he said with one of the smiles she couldn't resist. 

"Ooh, you and you're appetite," she said with a trace of a smile and swatted at him. 

"Come on Lennie, let's see if you think it tastes as good as it smells. Oh, and by the way, you can call me Mabel," Anita's Mom added. 

"All right, Mabel it is," Lennie said and offered her his arm taking Anita on his other. 

As they ate a dinner that Lennie proclaimed "fantastic", Anita's family got to know him and found him just as charming as Anita did. 

After dinner the women pushed Lennie and Jonesy out of the kitchen. As the women did the dishes and gossiped, the two men discovered that they hit it off like long lost brothers. 

"Say, why don't you bring Anita and the boys over to our place next weekend, we're having some friends and neighbors in for a little pre-Halloween party we do each year. It's always a lot of fun," Jonesy said by way of invitation. 

"Yeah, it sounds great," Lennie answered, and then suddenly he realized he was about to do another stupid guy thing. "Uh wait, I just about did it again. I better check with Anita first," he said with a grin. 

"Oh yes, the Harris women don't like to be left out of the planning, do they?" Jonesy said with a knowing laugh. 

Mabel had excused herself to the restroom, so Arlene took the opportunity to ask her sister a few personal questions about her relationship with Lennie. The kinds of things sisters ask each other about, but not in front of their mother. It didn't take long until she was teasing her big sister about Lennie, and the two women started laughing and carrying on like they were teenage girls again. 

Lennie walked into the kitchen and the women immediately calmed down. 

"Don't stop having fun on my account, I just came in because Jonesy mentioned something about a pre-Halloween party next weekend, and I thought I'd better ask you if you wanted to go?" Lennie inquired. 

"Oh, I already told Arlene we'd be coming and that we'd bring the boys," Anita answered. 

"Oh I see, so it's OK for you to make plans without checking with me, but if I do it, it's a stupid guy thing. You want to explain to me how that's fair?" Lennie asked with just a hint of exasperation in his voice. 

"That's easy, because I'm the woman you want to have sex with tonight," she answered with a wicked smile. 

"Damn, why does that make sense," Lennie laughed as Anita again pushed him out of the kitchen. 

"You go back out there with Jonesy, we'll bring you fellows coffee and dessert in a few minutes," she promised. 

"I see you've got him wrapped around your little finger," Arlene said. 

"Well, pretty much, I just hope he doesn't figure out how wrapped around his, I am," Anita replied with a smile that suddenly disappeared when she saw her mother standing in the hallway leading into the kitchen. 

"Mama, how long you been standing there?" she asked mortified to think her mother might have heard her comment to Lennie. 

"A while, " she answered with a smile. 

Anita blushed. "Oh Mama, if I'd known you were there I'd never,"- 

"What, never have teased Lennie like that? Girl, don't you think I talked to your Daddy like that sometimes? Lord, every generation thinks they invented sex," Mabel said bemused, as she started fussing about getting the dessert out. 

"You know, there's one thing I really like about Lennie," Mabel said, oblivious to the fact she'd just made her two grown daughters extremely uncomfortable, as they were now facing that most terrible of thoughts for children 'God our parents really did it and they probably even liked it!' 

"What's that Mama?" Anita asked more by force of habit than because she was really tracking the conversation. 

"You sure do smile a lot with him around," she answered. 

Her mother's comment actually registered enough with Anita to break through her funk and the rest of the evening went by very rapidly. About eleven o'clock Lennie said they had to get going because of the interview they needed to do in the morning. As they headed to the door Lennie was surprised to get a hug from Mabel, and a hint that they should be inviting the family to visit them soon.

* * *

By the time they got home, Anita was almost asleep on her feet. Lennie steered her toward the bedroom and started undressing her, not in a sexy way, more like one would undress a sleepy child. She didn't protest, just cooperated and occasionally gave him a sleepy little kiss. When he got her stripped, he grabbed his old NYPD T-shirt that he knew she loved to wear and pulled that on over her head. He kissed her on her face and helped her slip between the bedclothes, and then he quickly stripped off to his boxer like a snake shedding its skin. He left all their clothes in a pile on the floor, a little voice in his head said that Anita would scold him for that in the morning but he didn't care. Finally, he slipped into bed, 'spooning' behind her, wrapping his arms under and around her so his left hand came to rest on her right breast and his right hand on her belly. When his hand came to rest on her belly, he smiled thinking of his unborn child he felt sure was growing inside of her. He kissed her neck, and put his left leg over her legs pulling her body a little closer to his. 

Anita woke in the middle of the night desperately needing to go to the bathroom, but found that Lennie was wrapped around her. She was reluctant to give up the warmth he provided, but she really needed to go. Trying to get out from under his legs and arms without waking him up was a real chore. She thought she'd just about done it, when he woke with a startled snort. 

"What? What?" Lennie said, as he clutched Anita to him. 

"Nothing, honey just let me up. I have to go pee!" she said, almost desperate by this time. 

He groggily released her, and then fell back to sleep. 

"Lennie!" Anita yelled at him when she came back to bed. 

"What? What is it this time?" Lennie said awakened again for the second time in just a few minutes. 

"You're hogging the whole bed and all the covers!" she accused. 

"Oh, sorry baby," he said as he rearranged himself and the covers to make room for her. 

Lennie had just about fallen back to sleep when Anita said, "Lennie, are you still awake?" 

"Well, I am now and for the rest of the night, too," he said in a slightly peeved voice. 

"Oh, I'm sorry Lennie, it's just, I'm not really sleepy now and I was wondering,"- 

He silenced her with a kiss. 

"If you're not really sleepy now, then I'd like my rain check, 'cause otherwise, there's no way in hell I'm going to be able to get back to sleep tonight," he said emphatically. 

"Uhm well,"- He kissed her again, letting his tongue explore her mouth and he began using his fingers in the magical ways he did. Soon she was making sounds that he interpreted as meaning 'yes sir, go right ahead and cash in that rain check.' 

A while later, Lennie lay bathed in sweat, trying to recover his breath; Anita was tucked in under his arm, glistening with perspiration herself. She had a grin on her face that would have done the Cheshire cat proud. 

"So, what did you want to ask me," Lennie asked sleepily. 

"Oh, I was wondering what you thought of having a party for both our families, weekend after next at my house?" she asked stifling a yawn. 

"Yeah, sounds good," he said, as he kissed her temple, yawned and fell back to sleep.

* * *

The next morning Lennie and Anita got up and got ready for the reporters to call and set up an interview. As far as Lennie was concerned the sooner the interview was, the better, then they could get over to Anita's house and get settled in over there. 

Corcoran called promptly at 8 and after a little discussion they agreed to do the interview at Lennie's apartment at 9, to limit the number of reporters who came to four and to bring no photographers. Initially Anita was very wary of the whole process but eventually the reporters and Lennie won her over, and then she won over the reporters. By the time they left almost two hours later the reporters were very willing to write stories that didn't reveal Anita's identity, but which were very favorable to the men and women of the NYPD, if not so very favorable to some of the personnel policies and working conditions the men and women of the NYPD had to cope with in their everyday work. Once Lennie and Anita got the reporters out of the apartment they made all the last minute checks they needed to for closing the place up for a few weeks and headed over to Anita's house, taking both vehicles at Lennie's insistence.

* * *

When they arrived at Anita's, Don was just leaving. He and Lennie said hi to each other in exactly the tone one would expect of a soon to be ex-husband and the wife's new lover. Lennie, the trained observer, noticed several neighbors surreptitiously watching as he and Anita unpacked the SUV. Lennie took the suitcases upstairs as per Anita's instructions and nearly collided with Stefan as the teenager came stumbling out of his room. 

"Oh, sorry Lennie," Stefan apologized around a yawn as he helped Lennie regain his grip on a suitcase. 

"No problem," Lennie replied. "Hey, are you just now getting up?" Lennie asked in a teasing tone. 

"Yeah, well it's not a school day and mom wasn't here to drag me off to church," Stefan answered. 

"Shush, don't say the C word too loud," Lennie said, as he reached the master bedroom. Stefan opened the door for him. 

Stefan laughed at his comment and then asked, "You trying to dodge going to church with Mom?" 

Lennie sighed as he started unpacking a suitcase. "Well, I don't know. It's not that I'm not a believer, but I'm not much for organized religion. By the way, if you're at all fond of me don't tell anyone on my Mom's side of the family that," at Stefan's quizzical look Lennie added, "That side of my family is very Catholic and very devout. Anyway, back to what we were talking about, I keep thinking if I go to church with your Mom where she's used to going, there's going to be a lot of awkward questions and I'm not sure I want to put her in that situation or be in that situation myself." 

"Well, if I know Mom you better at least talk to her about it," Stefan advised Lennie. 

"Lennie! Stefan!" Anita called to her guys. 

"You need something, baby?" Lennie yelled down the stairs 

"I was wondering what you want to do about lunch?" she asked as she came to the foot of the stairs. 

"I was planning on leaving that up to my woman," Lennie said in what he hoped was his best smart-ass delivery. 

"You," Anita said with a laugh. 

"Uh Mom, I think if you look in the kitchen, you'll find not only is the cupboard bare but the refrigerator is empty too," Stefan informed his Mom as he came down stairs. 

"Oh great, you and your Dad just couldn't go grocery shopping, could you?" 

"Well, grocery shopping is definitely not one of Dad's better talents," Stefan joked, though in truth he was stung a bit at how eager his Mom was to take a dig at his Dad. 

"I'll help you get groceries, baby," Lennie volunteered as he stepped off the last step of the stairs. 

"No, that's OK. I actually prefer grocery shopping on my own, but when I get back I'd appreciate some help with getting the bags in from the car," she countered. 

"OK, we'll see you in a bit then," Lennie said. Anita grabbed her purse and car keys, and then she reached up to give Lennie a kiss. 

"Alright, you two behave yourself while I'm gone," Anita said as she left. 

Stefan stared at the closed front door for a second and then laughed. 

"What?" Lennie asked. 

"That's usually what she'd say if she left me and Ric alone when we were younger," he answered. 

"Oh that figures, she thinks I'm about as responsible as a kid. I'm gonna have to talk to that woman when she gets back. Come on let's order a pizza and see if the games on," Lennie suggested. 

"Great idea, let's watch down in the den. There's a phone down there to call for the pizza too," Stefan said as he headed downstairs. 

Stefan was three-quarters of the way down the stairs before he realized Lennie wasn't following him. 

"Something wrong, Lennie?" Stefan asked as he looked back up the stairs. 

"Uh, I sort of thought the downstairs was your Dad's territory," Lennie said hesitantly. 

"Oh well, he's got a bedroom down here but the den belongs to everybody. Come on down, I want to show you what we got last Christmas," Stefan said hoping to entice Lennie downstairs. 

Lennie looked around when he got downstairs and wondered if the place was Don's territory. If it was, he could understand Anita being unhappy. The place looked like the ultimate coach potato's dream. There was an enormous 'Entertainment center' crammed full with a 35" TV, a DVD player and an X-box. There was also a CD player, and of course a collection of DVDs and CDs. What Stefan was so hot to show Lennie was the Tivo. 

Lennie looked around and wondered if Don ever read any newspapers or magazines or books or if he ever just had a conversation with a member of his family. The guy probably just had his eyes glued to the TV set all the time. Lennie had nothing against TV, he liked watching sports and the news and there were some shows he liked, but he prized reading and listening to good music and talking to real live human beings too. He didn't see the reason to watch TV all the time, especially when so much of the programming now was just a bunch of junk. 

Lennie kept his opinions to himself, and order pizzas and pops for the two of them from the place Stefan recommended. They settled in to watch the Jets Houston game. Stefan was having fun showing Lennie how they could do their own instant replay on the Tivo, so the two guys weren't minding too much that their team was losing. 

As the game went on, Lennie got the feeling that Stefan was relishing the companionship of an older male. He thought that was a bit strange since he'd spent the last two weeks with his Dad, but maybe it was because he was a good bit older than Stefan's Dad. Maybe what Stefan was missing was a grandfather. Lennie didn't know about Van Buren's father, but he knew that Anita's father had been dead since Stefan was a toddler. 

Lennie remembered when he was a teenager, his grandfathers were both dead, but he had a great-uncle Chris who he was very fond of, the old guy was easy to talk to and gave great advice. It was a good thing too, because Lennie and his old man got along like the proverbial oil and water, as far as Lennie was concerned his Dad was a real schmuck. Lennie stopped his musing as Stefan said something that drug his attention back to the game.

* * *

Anita wandered around the grocery store in that semi-trance that some people get into when shopping. She needed the mundane activity after the last couple of weeks. As she meandered through the aisles, she picked up things in a combination of reflex and thinking about what Stefan and Lennie liked and what they needed. She stopped in the card section and got a birthday card for Lennie. As she moved through the health and beauty section, she suddenly remembered that her primary birthday present for Lennie still needed to be confirmed. So she picked up an early pregnancy test kit. Just as she reached the check out counter, she saw her neighbor Phyllis Williams, not one of her favorite people. She realized this was probably not going to be a pleasant encounter. 

"Well hello Anita, I haven't seen you around for a while," the other woman said by way of a greeting. 

"No, I've been staying in the city with a friend for the last couple of weeks," Anita said as the cashier began taking her groceries out of the cart. 

"Oh, would that be the man I saw helping you unpack your SUV this morning?" Phyllis asked pointedly. 

"Yes," Anita answered shortly. 

"So, I guess the rumors about you and Don getting divorced are true," Phyllis said. 

"Yes, if you'd like to inform the rest of the neighborhood, I filed in Santa Domingo on Friday, so I should be free of Don in three weeks," Anita said beginning to get hot under the collar. 

"That old white guy must be better than he looks," Phyllis remarked. 

Anita finished paying for her groceries, and as the young grocery clerk looked on, Anita turned to her nosy neighbor and said, "You can't begin to imagine how good he is." 

Anita then quickly turned and pushed her cart of groceries out of the store and quickly across the parking lot to where her SUV was parked. She packed the SUV as quickly as she could, hoping to get away before Phyllis got out of the store.

* * *

Midway through the second quarter with the Jets down 2 touchdowns to nothing, Lennie and Stefan heard Anita drive up. Lennie insisted they go upstairs immediately to help her unload the groceries. When Stefan started to protest Lennie countered that since the Tivo could pause the game for him Stefan had no excuse. Stefan grumbled a little but followed Lennie up the stairs. 

As Stefan and Lennie were helping her put the groceries away there was some gentle teasing between Lennie and Anita. Stefan was at first bewildered, and then amused to see little things, like Lennie purposely putting essential items like bread on top of the kitchen cabinets where Anita couldn't possibly reach it. Anita would elbow Lennie, and he'd pull the item down pretending to have no idea why what he was doing was a bad idea. At one point, Stefan was fairly sure his Mom and Lennie had forgotten he was there, because Lennie purposely bumped into Anita from behind, and then pressed her into the cabinets, wrapping his arms around her and kissing the back of her neck. 

"Aw come on, cut it out already, would ya?" Stefan protested. 

Lennie looked back at Stefan with an apologetic grin and said, "Sorry man, I sort of forgot you were there." 

Anita took the opportunity to turn around in Lennie's arms and then push against his chest, putting a bit of space between them. 

"Why don't you two go back to watching your game and I'll finish unpacking the groceries myself?" Anita suggested. 

"OK, but only if you come join us when you're done," Lennie said conceding, but putting his own requirements on the deal. 

"All right, I'll be down there in a few minutes," she promised. Lennie collected another kiss and then headed off with Stefan to pick the game up where they'd left it paused. 

Anita continued the unpacking, and when she realized that Stefan had been unpacking the bag containing the early pregnancy test kit, she breathed a big sigh of relief and thanked her lucky stars that she had pushed them out of the kitchen when she did. Having Stefan pull that out of a grocery bag would have been a unique way to tell her son she might be pregnant. 

When she was satisfied she had everything put away, she went down to the basement and joined Stefan and Lennie on the big couch. She scooted in so she could sit with one of Lennie's arms draped around her shoulder. Lennie had saved her a couple of slices of plain cheese pizza and he'd bought her some root beer. He'd emphasized to her that it had no caffeine. 

The guys decided she was a lucky charm because as soon as she showed up the Jets started scoring and Houston stopped. Lennie was particularly happy because he had a bet on the game, and not only had the Jets won the game, they'd beat the point spread he'd gotten. Of course he wasn't going to say anything about it, because he wasn't so sure yet how Anita would feel about his gambling. 

"Hey, you won your bet, how much did you clear?" Stefan asked, obliviously. 

"Uh,-" Lennie hesitated. 

"Yes honey, how much did you clear?" Anita asked in a fake sweet voice. 

"I don't think this is the proper time to talk about this," Lennie said. 

"Oh really," Anita said in an annoyed tone. 

Lennie looked at her, then looked at Stefan. "Do you really want to have this discussion in front of Stefan?" 

"Uh,"-Anita looked down for a moment and realized Lennie was right. As much as she wanted to yell at him about his gambling, she didn't need to do it in front of her son. 

"No, you're right this discussion can wait. I'm sorry," she said the last part softly. 

"Me too, I didn't mean to start a fight between the two of you," Stefan said feeling badly about upsetting his Mom and getting Lennie in trouble. 

"Hey, it's not your fault. Besides, I need absolutely no help getting in hot water with your Mom. I'm perfectly capable of doing that all by myself," Lennie said with a smirk. 

"Yes, he is," Anita confirmed and then playfully hit Lennie over the head with a pillow from the couch, which started a free-for-all, with Stefan helping his Mom gang up on Lennie at first and then Lennie retaliating by using the ultimate weapon - tickling. Finally, Lennie convinced Anita that it should be older generation against younger and Stefan quickly cried uncle. 

As the three of them sat slightly disheveled, laughing and trying to get their breath back, Lennie asked Stefan, "Hey, you coming with us to my birthday party tomorrow night?" 

"Uhm, actually I'm suppose to study with Jenny tomorrow night," Stefan said giving his Mom a nervous look. 

"OK, but if your plans change you know your welcome to go with us. My mom and my sister-in-law would just love to have another guy in the house to mother," Lennie said. 

Stefan laughed a bit and then leaned over and laid his head on his Mom's shoulder. 

"Speaking of mothering a guy, how about some of your home cooking, Mom. I've been eating TV dinners and McDonald's for two weeks," Stefan lamented. 

"All right I get the hint, one Sunday dinner coming up," Anita promised, gently pushing Stefan up off her shoulder. 

As Anita headed to the kitchen to start dinner, Stefan stood up and started pacing a bit. Suddenly he turned and said almost urgently, "Lennie, can I talk to you?" 

"Uh, sure," Lennie answered, a bit surprised by Stefan's request, "how about we take a little walk. After imitating a couch potato all afternoon my legs could do with some stretching," he suggested. 

"OK, I'll play bodyguard for you." Stefan said jokingly. "I know you're a bit nervous in this neighborhood," he added when Lennie shot him a look. 

"Well, you got to admit I do stand out a bit," Lennie replied. 

"I'm gonna tell your Mom we're taking a little walk, I don't want her to worry about us," Lennie said as he headed for the kitchen. He came back in a few moments and the two guys headed out the front door.

* * *

"You know you don't stand out as much as you'd think. This neighborhood is actually pretty diverse and you and Mom aren't the only mixed couple," Stefan said as they began their walk. 

"Huh, maybe your Mom and I should try to meet these other couples," Lennie pondered out loud. 

Once Lennie and Stefan had gotten a little ways from the house Lennie decided to see what was on Stefan's mind. "So what'd you want to talk about?" 

"Well, it's kind of about why I'm not going to your Birthday party tomorrow evening," Stefan answered. 

"Because you're going to be 'studying' with Jenny," Lennie said the word studying as though he definitely thought Stefan and Jenny might have a different way of defining the term. 

"Yeah, well actually Jenny's folks are going out of town and she wants me to come over and well, you know um, she wants to 'do it'," Stefan had stopped near a park for a moment and was now looking down like he couldn't quite meet Lennie's eyes. 

Lennie was very leery of wading into this situation. This was really Don's place, but he wasn't going to leave the kid high and dry. He knew Anita might not agree with some of what he'd say to Stefan, but he cared too much for the boy to just let him sit and stew. So right or wrong he was going to try and help the young man. 

"Oh yeah, I remember this situation. My girlfriend my senior year was a cheerleader named Mary Sue, and man was she anxious for us to lose our virginity together," Lennie revealed to Stefan. 

Stefan looked at Lennie in disbelief. 

"What? You don't believe me? Remember my telling you how young I was in High School? Well my buddies"- before Lennie could continue Stefan interrupted. 

"Yeah, I remember, you said you were a couple of years younger than everyone else," Stefan answered. "So that makes sense for you to still be a virgin as a senior, but me, man the guys are right. I'm some sort of freak," Stefan added sounding very distressed. 

"Wait a minute," Lennie said as he swung a leg up over a bench in the park, "don't buy into that macho shit about sleeping with a woman being some sort of entrance into manhood or something. Whether you and Jenny decided to have sex should have nothing to do with the peer pressure you get in the locker room or the peer pressure she's getting from her girlfriends. And if the two of you can't talk about that then you've got no business making love to each other," Lennie said very emphatically, then he took his leg off the bench, turned and walked a way from Stefan a bit. 

"Damn it, I didn't mean to start lecturing you. I probably shouldn't have said anything, anyway, 'cause it's not my place." Lennie turned back toward Stefan. 

"No man, I wanted your advice, Lennie," Stefan said, sounding almost desperate to get Lennie to keep talking to him. 

"Why didn't you talk to your Dad about this?" Lennie asked in frustration as he flopped down on the bench. 

"Talk to my Dad about my relationship with Jenny!" Stefan said with a laugh, as though Lennie had just suggested the most ludicrous thing he'd ever heard. 

"Well, why would that be such a bad idea?" Lennie asked. 

Stefan sort of half knelt on the opposite end of the bench Lennie was sitting on before he started to try to explain. 

"Don't get me wrong. I love my Dad, but …well, first of all he's hardly ever here. He's either working or at his girlfriend's place and when he is here, he's glued to the TV set. If I talked to him about me and Jenny he wouldn't have talked to me about not 'doing it' because of peer pressure or about being able to talk to Jenny about my doubts. He'd probably just told me to 'go for it', and then as an after thought he'd have told me to be sure to wear a rubber," Stefan said, the last bit coming out with added disdain. 

"Well now, I'd have gotten round to mentioning that too, if I was convinced you were hell bent on being with your girl," Lennie said trying to counter some of Stefan's bitterness towards his Dad. 

"Yeah, I know, I know. God, that's all my generation ever hears about, safe sex, be careful so you don't get HIV," Stefan complained. 

"I wasn't thinking about HIV, I mean you implied that you're both virgins. I was thinking more along the lines of preventing pregnancy," Lennie clarified. 

"But I thought," Stefan started and then stopped. 

"What? No wait, I know, you thought that she couldn't get pregnant because it would be her first time and there's some sort of magical thing about the first time and a girl not getting pregnant, right?" Lennie said with a huge smile. 

"Yeah," Stefan admitted sheepishly. 

"God, I don't believe it," Lennie said with a laugh. "They were selling that some old bull when I was a kid and I thought your generation was so much more hip than mine." 

"That's an urban legend, huh?" Stefan asked for clarification. 

"Yep and one that's made more than one young fellow a, what is it they call them now a days, a baby Daddy?" Lennie asked. 

"Yeah. Lennie can I ask you something?" Stefan asked hesitantly. 

"Well you've been doing fine so far, so shoot." 

"What happened with your cheerleader?" 

"Oh, well with us it was my folks who were going to be out of town. She came over and cooked dinner for us. My older cousin Gus helped me out with a bottle of wine from his dad's liquor store, and he was the one who suggested I check my Dad's nightstand for Trojans, sure enough there was a full box of them. I learned quite a bit that night, which was a good thing 'cause in my day we learnt most everything on the streets and from our buddies. And believe me my buddies who were giving me so much grief about my needing to 'lose it'. Well, they didn't know jack," Lennie began telling Stefan about his first time. 

"So what'd you learn?" Stefan prompted. 

"Men and women are wired differently. We get to ready a lot faster than they do, what I didn't figure out for a while, is that a guy can stay ready and wait for his girl to catch up, then it's a lot more fun," Lennie saw a slightly puzzled look on Stefan's face so he decided to explain. 

"I was over anxious and I rushed her. I ended up hurting her. I didn't mean to, but I'm a big guy and she wasn't ready for me. I just didn't know any better and neither did she. Then she was bleeding and that scared both of us," Lennie's expression made Stefan wonder. 

"It still bothers you all these years later?" Stefan asked. 

"Yeah, yeah it does. It's been over 40 years and that first experience still bothers me because it was so bad, and it was so wrong. For Mary Sue that evening went from being romantic to being painful, and she didn't do anything to deserve that. And the reason that whole stupid evening happened that way, was we weren't ready for it, but we were being pushed into it by our so called friends," Lennie's emotion filled explanation was enough to convince Stefan that the experience had indeed traumatized his older friend. 

"Did you and Mary Sue ever try it again?" Stefan asked. 

"Yeah eventually, I decided that I had to figure out what I had done wrong, because I knew couples couldn't be so turned on about something that was so unpleasant for the woman. That meant I had to confide in someone about how things had gone," Lennie explained sounding a bit uncomfortable about the last part. 

"So did you go to your cousin Gus?" Stefan guessed.  
  
"No, I sort of blamed him for the first time, figuring maybe the wine hadn't helped. No I went to my Great-Uncle Chris, he was the closest thing I had to a grandfather. Uncle Chris explained it to me very easily. He told me two things I've always remembered and since then I've had pretty good luck with women," Stefan waited anxiously to hear Great Uncle Chris' advice about women. 

Lennie leaned forward like a conspirator about to share a secret. 

"First he said, just because you know she's going to throw you a pitch you can hit out of the park, doesn't mean you shouldn't touch all the bases, cause if you don't, you'll find it's not so easy sliding into home plate," Stefan looked a bit confused, so Lennie clarified. 

"Women need foreplay and lots of it, and don't worry about it. I don't think there's a man in the world has lost his erection while kissing his woman's breasts or caressing her thighs, OK? You just need to make sure she's in a receptive mood," Lennie advised. 

"How do you know that?" Stefan asked. 

"Haven't you ever seen an x-rated movie or a porn site on the internet?" Lennie asked. 

"No," Stefan answered looking embarrassed. 

"Man, your Mom and Dad have done a great job keeping you protected," Lennie said, thinking he really didn't want to be explaining the birds and the bees in this detail to Stefan. 

Stefan nodded and realizing that Lennie was feeling uncomfortable decided to ask another question. "Did your Uncle Chris say anything more?" 

"Yeah, Uncle Chris also said, 'most men think a good lover has a big, thick cock and he knows how to use it. But actually the size of a man's cock doesn't matter so much as does a nimble tongue and skillful fingers and knowing how to use them. But he said if you want to be a great lover it helps to have a big, thick cock, a nimble tongue, skillful fingers, two good ears and a smart head on your shoulders. If you know how to use them all very well, especially the last two, women will think you're really something special," Lennie said with a smile. 

"What do you think he meant about two good ears?" Stefan asked. 

"Well, I've always taken it to mean that you should listen to your woman when you're making love to her, to see what it is she likes and doesn't like. Repeat what she likes and don't repeat what she doesn't. I'm really hoping he didn't mean I should listen to what my woman says all the time," Stefan laughed with Lennie. 

"So that next time with Mary Sue, was it better?" Stefan asked. 

Lennie sighed and then nodded, but before he could say more a football and a young black teen about Stefan's age came sailing in their direction. Lennie caught the football with his left hand and the young man with his right, although not quite enough to keep the boy from crashing into the bench he and Stefan were sharing. A black man who appeared to be in his late thirties or early forties came running up as Lennie was helping right the young man. 

"You OK, Tommy?" Stefan asked the other teenager. 

"Yeah, just a little embarrassed," Tommy answered. 

"Sorry I overthrew it a bit, I guess. Newton Williams, call me Newt," the man said, and offered his hand to Lennie. 

"Leonard Briscoe, everyone calls me Lennie. You've got quite an arm, Newt" Lennie commented as the two men shook hands. 

"Yeah well, that was a pretty good one-handed catch yourself, Lennie." 

"Of the kid or the ball?" Lennie asked with a laugh. 

The two men and the teenagers walked back to the neighborhood. The two men talked about their high school football days - Newt was a quarterback and Lennie a wide receiver. Lennie learned they were near neighbors, that the young man Tommy was Newt's oldest and that he and his wife Phyllis had a daughter too. Lennie was just thinking he should invite the Williams over, when he saw something akin to panic in Stefan's eyes and he quickly backpedaled on the invitation.

* * *

As soon as they got in the door Lennie practically pounced on Stefan. 

"What was that about?" Lennie asked Stefan. 

"I was afraid you were about to invite the Williams' over!" Stefan said loudly hoping his mother would hear in the kitchen. 

"You did what?" Anita came in to the living room barefoot, wearing an apron, and mixing some sort of white sauce. She sounded somewhere between angry and panicked. 

"Stefan and I ran into Newt and Tommy Williams over at the park. I took a liking to the guys, but apparently I'm not to invite them to the house," Lennie said the last phrase in a tone that said he was put out about it, but the truth was he was distracted by how sexy he thought Anita looked the way she was dressed. 

"It's not Newt that's the problem, it's his wife Phyllis. In fact, I ran into her today at the grocery store and she was oh so lovely to me," Anita said sarcastically. 

"What she'd say Mom," Stefan asked in a weary voice that said he knew darn well it was something catty. 

"Well, her punch line was that the old white guy, I think that's you honey, must be better than he looks. I informed her that you are," Anita said with a smirk, before she beat a hasty retreat into the kitchen. 

"Sorry man, it's just Phyllis Williams is, well lets put it this way, when you look up the word bitch in the dictionary, her picture is there as an illustration," Lennie couldn't help laughing at Stefan's explanation. 

"She and Newt are living proof that opposites attract because he's the nicest guy I've every met and she's the bitchiest woman in creation." Anita added from the kitchen. 

"OK, so now I know, don't invite the neighbors as a family. Can I just invite Newt and Tommy?" Lennie asked. 

"Sure and Vanessa is tolerable in small doses too," Anita added but Lennie saw Stefan shaking his head and mouthing the word no. 

"Anita, how long until supper?" Lennie asked, raising his voice so she could hear him in the kitchen. 

"About 15 more minutes, why?" she asked. 

"Stefan and I just need to finish a conversation we were having, we'll be down in the den, when you need us," he explained and then put a hand around the back of Stefan's neck and herded him toward the stairs to the den. 

"I thought we were done talking about things," Stefan said hesitantly as they descended the stairs. 

"Well, maybe we are and maybe we aren't, but I have to tell you something. I can't keep secrets from your Mom; if I do it will screw up our relationship. So you need to know I'm going to discuss some of what we talked about with her, probably later tonight," Lennie told Stefan. 

"OK, how do you think she's going to take it?" Stefan asked hesitantly. 

Lennie shook his head. He knew the only thing that was probably going to keep Anita from freaking out about her baby boy growing up too fast was that she had so many other things on her mind right now, not the least of which was the fact that she might be pregnant. Thinking about Anita probably being pregnant, made Lennie feel like a hypocrite. Here he was talking to Stefan about being sure that if he did go ahead and have sex with his girlfriend Jenny that he do so responsibly, but when Lennie had made love to Anita he hadn't acted responsibly, but then again if he had, they wouldn't be having the baby they both wanted so badly. He was sure deep down in his bones that Anita was pregnant. 

"Uh Lennie," Stefan said growing nervous because the older man hadn't answered immediately. 

"I don't know. You're her baby boy. She's not going to like thinking about her baby taking such big important steps. But she loves you and she trusts your good judgment, so I'm hoping she'll let you make your own decisions, without interfering too much" Lennie said and then squeezed Stefan's shoulder. 

"Yeah, now if I could only figure out in my own heart and mind what decision to make," Stefan said. 

"Maybe you better be ready in case you decide to give in to Jenny's request, but go there with a plan of action for just discussing things with her, making sure it's what both of you want, and that it's not just what everyone else is egging you on to do," Lennie advised. 

"Could you help me with the being ready part?" Stefan asked. 

"Yeah, we can take a little trip to the drugstore after dinner," Lennie answered. 

Just then Anita yelled downstairs at them, "Hey you two, go get washed up and then come help set the table, dinners almost ready." 

"Race ya," Stefan said and headed upstairs full tilt. 

Lennie followed at a saner pace and as Stefan continued on up to the second floor to use the main bathroom, Lennie wandered into the kitchen and washed his hands at the kitchen sink. He inspected what Anita had prepared for dinner, baked chicken, green beans, mashed potatoes, a tossed salad. Lennie stole a taste from several of the dishes. 

"Stop sampling from my serving dishes, Lennie Briscoe or," Anita's scolding was cut off by one of Lennie's expert kisses. 

"Or what baby, how you going to punish your man?" Lennie asked in that sexy growl of his that sent shivers up her spine. 

"Ooh you," Anita didn't get to say much more as Lennie pulled her to him, kissed her again and began letting his hands roam over her body, 'feeling her up' as the fellows of Lennie's generation would say. 

"Lennie stop, Stefan will be down any second and," she turned toward the stove. "My gravy is going to burn!" 

Lennie laughed and gave her a gentle slap on the butt. 

"Damn it, quit being a nuisance and be useful. Go set the table!" she said as she laughed and turned to finish off the gravy. 

Just then Stefan came in and helped Lennie find everything for setting the table. 

Lennie and Stefan ate like they'd never see food again; continually praising Anita's cooking skills, which she of course took delight in. Lennie insisted that he and Stefan do the clean up since Anita had cooked and she had no arguments with that as she was feeling tired. She went in and lay down on the couch so she could put her feet up. 

"Anita baby, I'm going to take Stefan to the store there's something he needs to pick up," Lennie told a slightly sleepy Anita as he leaned over her on the couch to give her a kiss. 

"Oh OK, see you in a bit then," she said and sunk back into the couch. Lennie spotted an Afghan on the end of the couch and pulled it up over her, she smiled at him and snuggled into it. 

"Thanks, honey," she said as the guys headed out.

* * *

Lennie's attentive gesture wasn't lost on Stefan. He liked the way Lennie took care of his Mom. And he liked the different ways Lennie showed his attraction to his Mom too, even if at first that had kind of made him squeamish. 

They took Lennie's car to the local pharmacy and Lennie helped Stefan pick out a package of condoms. They discussed the options, with Lennie quizzing Stefan on whether he or Jenny were allergic to latex and advising Stefan to use a condom with a spermicide, just in case the condom broke or wasn't applied or removed correctly. Stefan was really glad he'd taken an older guy along with him, when he saw the dizzying array of packages and options, all of which seemed to be aimed at selling him on how thin and strong their products were and how pleasurable they'd make the experience for him and his partner. 

Stefan then realized he'd like to get a birthday card for Lennie and he wanted to "ditch" him for a few minutes. 

"Uh, you mind getting lost for a few so I can get you a Birthday card?" Stefan asked. 

"OK, I guess I can look around for something," Lennie answered with a smile. 

While Stefan searched for just the right card for Lennie, Lennie wandered around the drugstore and came upon an aromatherapy display. He found a blend that claimed to be good for morning sickness called Easy Mornings. It was peppermint in almond oil, it wasn't cheap given the size of the bottle, but if it worked for Anita it would be worth it. 

Lennie wandered towards the cashiers and sure enough Stefan had already made his purchase and was waiting for him. Lennie bought the aromatherapy oil and the guys left. The cashier shook her head, she thought they would have to be the oddest couple of customers she'd have all night, a black teenager buying a weird birthday card and a package of condoms and a middle age white guy buying aromatherapy oil for morning sickness, seeing them get into a car together really made her evening.

* * *

Shortly after the guys left, the phone rang, Anita groggily reached out for the cordless phone that was on the end table near the couch. She didn't even bother to check the caller ID, something she'd regret. "Hello," she answered a bit sleepily. 

"Well, hello yourself, I haven't been able to catch you at home for the last couple of weeks. How are you doing?" Betty Abrahms said cheerily. 

"Oh, I'm fine," Anita answered automatically and tried to wake herself more fully, so she could deal with what was bound to become a difficult conversation, more adequately. 

"So, what's been keeping you so busy lately?" Betty asked. 

"Uhm, well there's really no easy way to tell you this Betty. I haven't been here at home the last couple of weeks. I've been living with my lover in his apartment in the city," Anita started to explain. 

"Well, not exactly what I would have expected from a straight arrow like you Anita. But if you're happy, who am I to pass judgment on you? So how is it you happen to be home now?" Betty's response and her questions cut Anita off before she could finish explaining who her lover was. 

"Betty, you didn't really let me finish, but to answer your question Don and I have agreed to a two week on, two week off schedule with Stefan, so it's now my turn to live at the house with Stefan," Anita said. 

"Sorry if I interrupted you, I suppose you wanted to tell me all about this lover so you can justify being with him, right?" Betty asked. 

"Oh Betty, I doubt there's anyway I can ever do that to your satisfaction," Anita said wearily. 

"Why would you say that? Anita, I told you I'm not going to pass judgment on you," Betty promised. 

"Oh, yes you are. My lover is Lennie Briscoe," Anita confessed. 

"No, no you'd never do that to me. You wouldn't become the lover of the only man I ever really loved, the man you made me give up because 'he's no good for any woman'!" Betty's voice had gone from a shaky whisper to a near scream. 

"Betty, please try to understand, when I gave you that advice all those years ago I didn't know Lennie. I was giving my friend advice about a man she was describing, a twice divorced gambler who drank too much for his own good or hers, who she acknowledge wouldn't make a good step-father for her boys. That's not the same man I'm in love with, the man I'm in love with is a recovering alcoholic and he will make a good step-father to my boys. Betty, please I know it must seem like I stole him from you, but I didn't mean to. And you have to know something else. He's mine now and I'll never give him up," Anita warned Betty. 

There was a long silence. "Betty?" 

"I can understand how you feel, Anita. I hope you'll understand how I feel. I loved him. I still do. I did what I thought was right for my sons, but that was the hardest thing I've ever done in my entire life. I don't know that I could stand to see you with him. I don't know, I'd like to think that I could love him enough to be content to see him happy even if it were with someone else, but I'm just not sure that I'm that mature," Betty explained. 

"I do understand, I wish I didn't have to hurt and lose my best friend to be with the man I love," Anita said in an emotion-choked voice. 

"Oh Anita, give me some time. I don't want to lose your friendship. After all he's only a guy. Even if he's Lennie Briscoe," Betty said with a sad little laugh. 

"OK, whenever you're ready you give me a call, OK?" Anita said with a bit of a sniffle. 

"Yeah, I'll call ya, bye," Betty said and ended the call.

* * *

Anita put the phone down and let out a shaky sigh. She gathered the afghan to her like it was a pillow and started to cry. She started remembering her long friend ship with Betty; they'd known each other half their lives. They met at the academy when they were both 21 years old. Women were still fairly rare in the early 80s and ones who were newlyweds were even more so. Betty and Anita kept is touch with each and compared their personal and professional lives, which paralleled each other fairly well. They both ended up with 2 sons and both became detectives although Anita continued on up the ranks higher than Betty did, although Anita hit a glass ceiling at Lieutenant. 

Anita had thought at the time that Betty's marriage being rocky sooner than hers was and Betty's dubious choice of lover were perhaps indications that her judgment was a bit suspect and that was why she hadn't made it as far career-wise. Once Anita met Lennie she had to revise her opinion a bit. She realized that she knew the sober version of Lennie and Betty knew the drunken version, but either way he still had to be a charmer. So maybe there were other explanations for the stall in Betty's career. While she was contemplating her friendship with Betty her guys came home, Lennie came ahead of Stefan. 

"Anita baby, what's wrong?" Lennie asked very concerned for her. 

"Betty called while you were out," she answered softly. 

"Oh baby," Lennie said sympathetically as he scooted onto the couch next to Anita and held her. 

"What's going on?" Stefan wanted to know. 

"Betty called while you were gone," Anita repeated for Stefan's sake. 

"So why should a phone call from an old friend upset you?" he asked. 

Lennie decided to jump in and take the brunt of the explanation. 

"Because Betty and I were partners a long time ago and more than that, we were lovers too. Your mom gave Betty some really good advice back then, she told her to dump me, because I was a drunk and a lot of other things that Betty didn't need in her life at the time. But your mom feels kind of guilty about that now," Lennie turned towards Anita, "don't you, baby?" 

Anita nodded and then blew her nose on a tissue. "Betty was plenty upset to hear that we were together now, but well she asked me to give her some time. She doesn't want to lose our friendship either," Anita said and then she tried to smile. "Especially over a guy, even if the guy is Lennie Briscoe." 

Stefan wasn't sure whether to be really upset to learn Lennie had an affair with one of his mom's best friends, one he knew was married, even if that was a long time ago, or to laugh at what his Mom had just said about she and her friend not wanting to lose their friendship over a guy, but before he could really decide his phone rang. 

"Oh, excuse me that's my phone, it's probably Jenny," Stefan said as he bounded upstairs to catch the phone. 

"Well, we won't see him for most of the rest of the night. He'll talk to Jenny, then his guy friends, then he'll get on the Internet for the rest of the evening," Anita predicted. 

"Good, that means we can have some time alone together," Lennie said as he cuddled her to him. 

"How about we go upstairs then?" Anita suggested sounding like she was beginning to feel a bit better. 

"You want to go up to your bedroom this early?" Lennie asked a little surprised. 

"I want to go up to our bedroom, and it's not all that early. I mean, you do want to get up bright and early on your birthday don't you?" she countered. 

"I thought I'd get to sleep in on my birthday," Lennie said with a mock pout. 

"Well if not for a family tradition maybe you could, but in this family we always go to the Pancake Shack on birthdays for breakfast. You do like pancakes don't you?" she asked in a much happier voice as she began leading him upstairs. 

"Actually I love pancakes, it sounds like a great tradition," Lennie replied as he followed his lover up to the master bedroom of her house, enjoying watching her hips sway as she went up the stairs.

* * *

When they got up stairs Lennie began helping Anita undress, he loved taking her clothes off of her and kissing the skin that was exposed. 

"Lennie," she said to stop him before he removed her bra and panties. 

"Yeah," he answered distractedly. 

"Did you lock the door?" she asked. 

"Uh, " he stopped what he was doing, went to check and after locking the door replied with a laugh, "sure I did." 

As he came back to continue his mission, she teasingly scolded him, "You can't forget that we're not alone in this house." 

"Well, if I do and Stefan comes barging in, I guess I won't have to worry about teaching him anymore about the birds and the bees," Lennie said with a chuckle. 

Lennie's comment made Anita curious and so she asked Lennie, "What do mean by that?" 

Lennie sighed and internally cussed himself, as he knew he had just opened a can of worms that was going to kill the mood. He pulled her to the bed and sat down on it with her. He took her hand in his and for a few seconds he didn't say anything as he tried to order his thoughts. He wanted to try to figure out what was most important to tell her first and how to tell her so she reacted in the way that would be best for Stefan. 

"Well, I did tell Stefan I was going to talk to you about what he and I discussed this afternoon, so I guess now is as good a time as any. I just want to be sure I don't screw up and say things in the wrong way," Lennie answered. 

"Just tell me what you guys talked about and I'm sure everything will be OK," Anita suggested. 

Lennie shook his head and said, "Well, I'm not so sure that's going to work as well as you think, but I'll give it a shot." 

"He's not coming with us to my birthday party tomorrow night because Jenny's parents are going to be out of town and she wants the two of them to get together to lose their virginity"- 

"What?" Anita exclaimed. 

"Now wait, don't get all upset. Stefan's got a lot of reservations about this and we talked about them. I'm not sure which way things are going to go, but I'm sure he's going to have a discussion with Jenny about the two of them not having sex until they both feel ready for it, rather than letting themselves be pushed into something their aren't ready for by peer pressure," Lennie told her to calm her down. 

"How did you get him to talk to you about that stuff," she asked. 

"Well, it helped that he wanted to talk and that I was willing to share the experience I had when I was about the same age as he is now. I think he liked hearing that he wasn't alone in how he felt," he answered. 

"I suppose that trip to the store was to buy condoms?" Anita asked. 

"Yes, and don't you know that I felt like a hypocrite telling him that if he did decide to have sex with his girlfriend he should do so responsibly," Lennie shook his head and chuckled. 

"Yes, I suppose you might." 

"There's something else we talked about and I think you should know about it, but I'm hesitant to bring this up because - well, I've been on the other side of things and I know how hard it can be," Lennie stopped talking and suddenly found the bedspread fascinating. 

"Lennie, could you tell me what you're talking about?" Anita said wondering what Lennie was beating around the bush about. 

"Well, I asked Stefan why he didn't just ask his dad for advice. He said Don wasn't around much, that he was either working or at his girlfriend's, and when he was here, he spent his time watching TV. In Stefan's opinion his dad would have 'just told him to go for it and then as an afterthought mentioned using a rubber', the way Stefan said it I think he's lost a lot of respect for his dad," Lennie told her using his great talent as a mimic to imitate what Stefan had said. 

"Oh great, well I'm going to have to talk to Don," Anita said and reached for the phone on the bedside stand. 

"Now wait, would you mind a little advice from a guy who's been divorced and done this custody and visitation thing?" Lennie asked Anita. 

"OK, I guess so," Anita said putting the receiver down. 

"Right now you're upset with Don, and rightly so, about his lack of involvement with Stefan. But if you call him up right now and tell him all about what he's doing wrong and what you think he should do to change things, all you're going to accomplish is making Don angry and defensive. Gloria used to do it to me all the time. Until both of us changed our attitudes nothing happened. Believe me that took a long time to come about, in the meantime the girls suffered because we couldn't get out of this stupid pattern of her telling me how she was right and I was wrong and my getting mad and digging my heels in about anything she suggested," Lennie was looking into Anita's eyes trying to see if she was taking in what he was saying. 

"God, I was so right about what I told Betty today," Anita said. 

"What do you mean?" Lennie asked, thinking Anita's comment seemed to be coming out of nowhere. 

"I told her you weren't at all like the man she was involved with, she left you because of your drinking and because she didn't think you'd make a good step-father to her sons. You've just shown me what a good step-father you already are to my son," she gave Lennie a gentle kiss. 

"Well, he's a really good kid and it's not hard to give him what he needs. Which makes me kind of mad at Don. But then again, I think I know where Don's head is right now and he probably doesn't realize what he's doing to Stefan," Lennie wasn't so much talking to Anita as he was thinking out loud. 

Lennie turned his attention more to Anita and said, "Whatever you do end up saying to Don, try to keep me out of the conversation. If he's anything at all like I was, the last thing he wants to think about is his kid developing a relationship with another man. The thought of some guy Gloria was seeing being involved in my daughters lives used to drive me nuts," Lennie admitted. 

"Any suggestions on what I do say?" she asked. 

"Well, focus on what's best for Stefan and try to let Don make suggestions about what he thinks he can do differently, that way your not forcing something on him and he'll feel ownership for the solution," Lennie answered. 

"Oh, do as I say instead of as I usually do," Anita replied with a laugh. 

"Uh, yeah," Lennie agreed. 

"As long as we're having this serious discussion about things relating to Stefan. I'm not sure that I'm thrilled having you model the behavior of gambling around him," Anita said with a hint of reproach in her voice. 

Lennie got a very displeased expression on his face and stood up and walked away from the bed. 

"Look, I've gambled all my life, in one way or another, and at this point it's the one vice I've got left. I'm not going to quit gambling and that's it. Get used to it," He said emphatically. "Look, let's not do one of those stupid 'you're perfect. I love you, now change' things," Lennie added, he was clearly getting agitated. 

"Lennie I think you're overreacting a bit," Anita said as she got up and moved toward him. 

"Yeah, well you're not the one being asked to give up something you need," Lennie snapped. 

"First of all, I'm not asking you to give it up," she said as she reached out to take his hands. "I just said I wasn't sure I liked your modeling that behavior for Stefan. Second, it concerns me that you didn't want to tell me how much you were gambling, and finally it really disturbs me that you say you need to gamble, because that makes it sound like an addiction," Anita countered in an intense but controlled voice. 

Lennie pulled her to him and then walked back to the bed. "Baby, I have an addictive personality and it's like a hose when you've turned on the spigot. You can put a kink in the hose to keep the water from coming out but it's hard to hold the flow back and eventually something's going to give. You have to work at it all the time to keep it from gushing out and if you can find a safe outlet you stick with it. For me gambling is a safe outlet," he explained. 

"Now wait a minute, I've seen you worry about Ed and his gambling, so how could you think gambling is safe for you?" She asked very concerned for Lennie. 

"I don't know, I've never got jammed up gambling. I always know what my limit is and I can stick with it. I've never gambled money I couldn't afford to lose," Lennie rationalized. 

"Speaking of which, how much did you wager on that game?" Anita asked. 

"A couple of c notes," he answered. 

"Lennie!" Anita exclaimed. 

"Don't get all upset. First off, I won the bet and second I could afford to lose it," Lennie said trying to calm her down. 

"With my possibly being pregnant, you think you can afford to lose a couple hundred dollars on a stupid football game?" Anita asked animatedly. 

Lennie didn't answer her right away and looked at the floor and then at their entwined hands. 

"Can we compromise on this issue? You don't ask me to give up gambling and I'll promise to keep my wagers smaller, say no more than $50?" Lennie proposed. 

"OK, I think I can live with that," Anita agreed. 

"Great, now where was I?" Lennie said as he began removing Anita's bra. She giggled. 

"Hey wait, you're way too far ahead of me, "She said as she pushed at him and began stripping off his clothes. After she unzipped his fly and began pushing his pants off of him he started resisting her. 

"Wait a second, I've got something in my pocket for you," he reached in his right pocket and pulled out the aromatherapy oil and handed it to her. 

"It's suppose to help when you have morning sickness, you just sniff it and it's suppose to relieve the symptoms," he said sounded like he was caught between being skeptical but hopeful for her sake. 

"You are so sweet to always be thinking about me," Anita said, and then placed the oil on the nightstand, finished removing his pants and pulled him over her. Just then Stefan knocked on their bedroom door. 

"Mom, Lennie, I'm going to bed now, just thought I'd say good night," he called through the closed door. 

"Goodnight son, 'Nite Stefan," Anita and Lennie called. 

"Now aren't you glad I had you lock the door?" Anita said with a laugh. 

"Yes ma'am, do you have any other orders?" Lennie asked in a suggestive voice. 

"Yes, I do. Make love to me, now!" Anita's voice was as sultry as he'd ever heard it and he was more than willing to obey her. 

When they were both sated Lennie assumed his new favorite sleeping position, which consisted of draping himself around and over Anita. He quickly fell asleep and Anita soon found herself lulled to sleep to the sound of his breathing. About 3 am Anita awoke desperately needing to use the bathroom. She realized she was again trapped beneath Lennie's arms and legs. 

"Lennie let me up. Lennie, LENNIE!" she finally had to raise her voice to rouse him. 

"Hm, oh sorry baby," Lennie said and let go of her. 

When she got to the bathroom she figured she might as well use the EPT kit, as the kit said that early morning urine was most accurate. She cursed herself because her glasses were downstairs in her purse and she wasn't going to go down and get them, so she played around with where to hold the instructions until she could get them into focus. The directions seemed pretty simple - a far cry from the doctor's office 'pee in this paper cup' routine that was the ultimate in frustration. The waiting seemed like an eternity but even before the 2 minutes was up she could see pink lines forming in both the square control window and the round test window. She didn't know exactly how she'd feel when she knew for sure she was pregnant. Now that she did, she wasn't sure she could put words to her feelings. What words describe being extremely happy and frightened at the same time? 

As she returned to the bedroom she nearly laughed. There caught in the little bit of light provided by moonlight and the distant city lights was the sprawled form of her lover, who once again in her absence had managed to spread out his scrawny form over most of the bed, leaving her no place to sleep. She noticed that his prominent nose was snuggled into her pillow as though like a scent hound he'd sought her out. She sighed as she realized she had no choice but to wake him. 

"Wake up, sleepyhead and let your lover back in bed," she said while gently shaking his shoulder. 

"Mm huh," Lennie acknowledged and scooted over a bit, making just enough room for her to lie in front of him. As soon as she lay down he wrapped his arms and legs around her, as he was wont to do. Anita sighed and snuggled into Lennie. She felt his left hand on her belly and smiled. In a few hours she'd wake him and let him know they'd beat the odds and he was going to be a father yet again.  



End file.
